I Found (A Fairy Tail Fanfic)
by SliverRoses12
Summary: (I apologize, I am not one for summary's, I promise I'm way better at writing actual stories ;) (AU) In this world, Fiore is made up of ten states and a sinister group has already taken control of six of them. Read as our favorite heros rise up against all odds and at times death, to save their country. *I DON'T OWN FAIRY TAIL OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS, HIRO MASHIMA DOES*
1. Preview

Jellal paced his office, he had been doing this for hours, trying to figure out what he should do. He sits on the edge of his desk, rubbing his forehead. He was sure Zeref would come come for Marguerite next, and he wasn't prepared. He didn't know who he could even trust anymore. Sir Dragneel had left almost a year ago, saying goodbye with nothing more than a letter. The note had given many reasons why he had to leave, but Jellal knew it was because of his brother.

A knock on his door woke him from his thoughts.

"Come in," he says, standing up and straightening his coat.

A young girl with pink hair walks in, holding a silver platter carrying multiple envelopes. Jellal takes the letters and starts looking through them when the girl says,"I was told to give you this immediately."

Jellal takes a note from her hand and reads:

_Lord Siegrain,_

_An urgent matter has come up._

_You are needed in the dungeons_

_on the southwest side of the palace._

_-Capt. Vastia_

Jellal sighs and sets the note on his desk. He looks through the rest of the mail, he throws all but one of the envelopes in the trash. It was from Ivan, the lord of the neighboring state, Clover. He was coming to Marguerite for a visit and apparently they needed to discuss something 'urgent'. He laughs to himself, the word was used too much these days.

Jellal sets the letter in the drawer of his desk and glances over at the servant.

He smiles and says, "You're dismissed now Chelia, thank you."

"Thank you Lord Siegrain," she says, curtsying before she leaves.

Jellal hates that name, but it was required for lords to use a different name for publicity reasons, though it made no sense to him.

Jellal puts his cloak on and walks into the hallway. A guard escorts him downstairs into an interrogation chamber. He meets Captain Vastia inside the room, on one side of a cloaking lacrima. He stares through the glass at the girl cuffed to one of the two chairs in the room. She had her head down and the room was dark, so he couldn't see what she looked like.

"Who is she?"

Lyon looks through his papers and then to Jellal before answering hesitantly, "She is the general who led the last three attacks on Magnolia, and killed Lord Dreyar. The search party found her this morning."

A burning rage filled within him, he knew exactly who this is. He knew personally what a murdering monster she was. The reason Magnolia had fallen to the hands of Zeref. She was a puppet of the devil, no guilt, no regrets.

"Unlock the door, I'm going in," He orders as he walks to the door to the other half of interrogation chamber. A guard with a loop of keys unlocks it and opens the door.

"My lord, it's not your job to interrogate the prisoners-"

He enters, ignoring Lyon, and takes the seat facing her.

She slowly rises her head, scarlet red hair parting around her face, making her seem demonic. Who knows, maybe she was.

"It has been quite some time, hasn't it Jellal?" she coos, an evil smile taking over her face.

Jellal stares through her, showing no emotion.

"Hello Erza."

* * *

_**This is only a preview, my normal chapters are much longer than this ;)**_


	2. Chapter 1

_**Ugh! I'm so mad at myself! In the preview i meant to change Lieutenant Vastia to CAPTAIN Vastia but I forgot before posting... :/ sorry... Anyways, enjoy the new chapter! ;)**_

* * *

"You were just using me this whole time?" The girl yells, throwing an empty bottle.

Natsu easily catches it and drops it on the floor. It shatters and Natsu turns around in his stool. He faces the bartender and gestures to him for a drink.

"Are you _ignoring_ me?" she yells even louder this time.

He takes a breath and looks over his shoulder at her, "Ashley, you're causing a scene, please stop screaming."

The bartender hands him his drink and raises his eyebrows at Ashley. Her face so red with anger, she looked like she could explode.

"JERK!"

With that, she stomped out of the bar and slammed the door.

Natsu chuckles and rolls his eyes, taking a sip from his glass. That was the sixth girl he had used for information on his brother. He had been given quite a few good leads, but not enough to show for almost a year off duty. Ashley had told him the most valuable information out of all of the other girls. The plans to invade Magnolia were given to him too late though, if he had received them just an hour sooner, he would have been able to alert Marguerite and stop Zeref and his army. Now they had managed to kill Magnolia's lord and take over the whole state.

Natsu pays for his drink and sighs. He leaves the bar and walks along the streets of the town outside Hargeon's capital. He was at a loss of what to do, he couldn't return to Jellal with nothing to show for his absence.

"You're looking for information on the Arcana group, right?"

Natsu looks over to his left in the direction of the voice. A girl was leaning against a wall of an alley, she was in the shadows of a building, so he couldn't see much of her.

"What does it mean to you?" Natsu asks suspiciously, folding his arms.

"I have exactly what you want, information, answers. Though, I want something in return." she answers shyly, playing with a lock of short, white hair.

He feels warm blush on his cheeks, he breaks eye contact and thinks about the offer. He knows exactly what she wants, and it wasn't much of a price for him.

She waits for a long moment before asking, "Do we have a deal?"

Natsu looks at her, hesitant. She smiles mischievously, waiting for his reply. He did not trust her at all, any information she gave him could be lies, but then, there would be no harm done on his end.

He ignores her question and asks, "How do you know about me?"

¨I´ve heard a handful of the girls at the brothel talking about you, the man with pink hair who only hooks up with them in order to find information about their other clients, how shameful.¨ teases the girl, shaking her head in mock disappointment.

Natsu rolls his eyes, ¨Yeah whatever, what´s your info?

Her smile disappears and she looks around suspiciously, "Not here."

Natsu nods and follows her through Hargeons capital, never letting his guard down. For all he knew, he could be walking straight into a trap. As they left the downtown area, the buildings became run-down and abandoned, homeless wandered the backstreets and alleys. Natsu was on edge but the girl seemed relaxed, almost content.

¨So, if you live all of the way out here, then why were you at that bar?¨

She shrugs, ¨I had business with a client and I recognized you on my way back. Lucky, right?¨

Natsu blushes, ¨Oh, yeah sure.¨

"I'm Lisanna by the way," she says with a little wink, making his face burn even more.

"Natsu."

Something about her story still didn't settle right with him.

As it got darker, more and more people took to the alley-ways, laying out blankets, and starting bonfires in old garbage cans. Natsu thought he could hear screaming in the distance; this was not a good place.

"This is it," she points to what was either an apartment building or a hotel, the windows all covered with thick drapes. The doors into the building had been taken off their hinges and replaces with transparent curtains that moved in the night breeze.

Walking in he almost gagged at the smell. It was foul and stale, and the stuffy heat made him almost step outside again. Smoke and alcohol added to the stench, making his stomach churn. Lisanna noticed his wrinkled nose and laughed, "You get used to it after a while."

They had walked into a large lobby with couches and lounging chairs scattered around the sides of the room. There was a man sitting on one of the sofas, flirting with two girls sitting on his lap. On another couch sat a couple, kissing each other passionately. Natsu looked away, he felt like he was intruding, and found Lisanna talking to another woman in the center of the lobby.

"Has anyone requested me while I was out?"

"Not that I know of," the other girl said, she was holding a bottle of wine and was wearing the bear minimum with the exception of the transparent skirt that only wrapped half way around her waist. Her necklaces and bracelets and large earrings jingled every time she moved.

Natsu realized he had met her before at bar once when he was with a friend about a month ago.

"Good, cause I'm booked. Thanks Cana."

Cana shrugs and starts walking toward a large doorway that Natsu guessed was the bar, but turns around with a teasing smile, "Try not to get hurt tonight Liz, master Brain wouldn't be too thrilled about another sick day because you were riding too hard the night before."

Lisanna says nothing as she glares at her, her face turning pink as well as Natsu's.

Lisanna takes his arm and leads him through a hallway, then up two staircases, and then down another hallway before unlocking a door.

The room at least smelled decent. Like the rest of the brothel, rag-tag furniture filled the room, with thick burgundy drapes hiding the window. Natsu took a seat next to Lisanna and she started explaining.

She had been a slave of one of Zeref's generals for almost four years and she had escaped six months ago. She had overheard things even lieutenants didn't know about.

"At first, it wasn't so bad, my sister and I were taken from our home town just outside Primrose before it was invaded. They killed my brother and my parents. We were kept together, but after about a month, they took us and tested our strengths. Mira had always been talented with her magic, but I wasn't even 16 yet and never grew all that strong. She was taken to be trained as a soldier, and I was given to General Reap as a pet. I was with him for three and a half years, and then I was moved to General Redfox." Lisanna shivered, no doubt remembering the terrible things that had happened to her.

"I escaped and came here, trying to gather information from the background for a time like this, if I ever came across a person who would stand up to Zeref, then I could help them.

Natsu leans forward, "What do you know?"

"I know for sure they're going to try to invade Marguerite next, it'll be easy for them."

"How will it be easy? Their state's military is one of the strongest."

Her eyes darken, "The lord of Clover works for Zeref, and he plans on assassinating Lord Siegrain so the state will be vulnerable. Then it will be guaranteed their invasion is successful. The same thing happened in Magnolia last week."

"Assassinate Lord Siegrain? How?"

"Lord Ivan has a scheduled meeting with Jellal in two days, he plans to do it then. After Marguerite, Zeref will come to take Clover, and Laxus will just hand the whole state over to him. This will probably be his easiest win."

"Only two days…" Natsu whispers to himself, trying to figure out what to do.

"There may be some hope though," says Lisanna. Natsu perks up, lifting his head from his hands.

"There is a girl and a boy from Pavonia, who can get you into Marguerite's palace, your former title in the castle will help you get in as well."

Natsu's heart jumped, "H-how did you know?"

She raises an eyebrow, "Come on, I wouldn't have bothered telling you this unless you were actually someone who had a chance against them. I've done my research on you."

"Who are the kids?"

"Lord Heartfilia's children who escaped. They now stay at Fairy's Inn in the northeast sector of the capital."

"In Pavonia?"

"Hargeon."

Natsu laughs, relieved, they were close.

Nothing was ever that easy.

She smiles, "Are you hungry?"

Natsu shrugs, "Not really."

"Yeah, me neither. I need to go do something though. I'll be back in a minute," she gets up and exits the main living area into a bedroom, leaving Natsu alone with his thoughts.

He made a two day plan in his head: find the Heartfilia's, take a train to Marguerite, get into the palace, save Jellal, don't get killed.

It seemed easy enough.

He is pulled from his thoughts as two hands slide over his shoulders and down his chest. Natsu can feel her breath as her lips find his jaw and he turns his head as she works her way to his mouth. He breaks, hopping over the couch to meet her and he sees what she had left to go do. Her skimpy red dress was gone and now there was only black lacy underwear. He kisses her again, standing right outside of the bedroom door. Her fingers snake through his hair and she kisses him harder, pulling him into the room. The light is turned out, and the door closed. After all, this was his end of the deal.

* * *

_**I'm sorry Nalu fans. I promise he'll end up with Lucy, just hang in there. Next chapter in two days! I hope you guys liked it!**_


	3. Chapter 2

"You will tell me where he is going to attack next, or so help me, I will do things you didn't know I was capable of!" Jellal yells in her face. He had never been so angry at someone before. She was a lying snake, and would betray you in an instant. Jellal knew this first hand.

Throughout the interrogation process, Erza had told him nothing. He knew she would never tell him anything, even if they tortured her. Knowing that angered Jellal even more, to the point of violence.

Erza smiles at him mockingly and says, "You're bluffing, you would never hurt me. You love me more than I could kn-"

The ball of anger in his stomach disappears as he thrusts his hands forward, his light magic slamming her chair against the wall. She wasn't hurt, but it sent the message through.

"Try me," he says, shooting her a glare, "If you think after three years I still love you, you're a fool. After what you did, and what you've done since then, it is impossible for me to feel anything but hate and disgust. Though, you did teach me something very important."

Jellal walks to the door whipping his cape dramatically. He opens the door, looking over his shoulder, "You can't trust anyone."

He slams the metal door and a guard locks it.

The guard mutters something that sounded a bit like 'Drama queen,' and Jellal glares at him, shutting him up. Jellal looks through the cloaking lacrima at her. She was staring straight ahead, her eyes blank and full of tears.

"What did you do to her?" asks Lyon as he watches her.

"The spell I used made her relive her worst memory," answers Jellal, "her mind is vulnerable and weak, get as much information from her head as you can before it wears off.

He leaves the interrogation chamber and returns to his study. He sits down at his desk and attempts the pile of paperwork that had grown higher in the hour he was gone. About halfway through the stack, he began to get drowsy and laid his head on his arm, drifting off into a much needed sleep.

* * *

_She was beautiful. Her red hair swayed in the breeze created by the river as she watched the sunset. Jellal wanted to be with her, every day. Forever. The two of them sat together in silence, holding hands. No words needed to be spoken, this moment was perfect._

_She scooted closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder, eventually pulling him into a long embrace. He sighed into her shoulder, filled with happiness. God, he loved her so much. He noticed wetness on his shoulder and he realized that by the short, sharp breaths she was taking, she was crying. He stroked her hair and cradled her, rocking back and forth to comfort her. Despite his efforts, she cried harder. _

_Jellal pulls away from her and rests his hands on her shoulders, "What's wrong?"_

_She can't answer through the tears, so she just shakes her head. They hug again, and when she calms down, she mumbles into his cloak, "I love you so much."_

_His heart was filled with happiness at those words. "I love you more than you could kn-"_

"_Sir Jellal! Watch out!" he hears Lieutenant Dorenbold yell from the top of the the hill._

_Jellal looks up and sees the glint of a blade, raised, and aimed over his back. His whole being paralyzed in shock as he watches the knife fall from her hand, and into the grass behind him. He pulls away, confused. Erza sobs, hiding her face in her hands. Jellal looks up the hill at Dorenbold who has pulled out a sword and had called for backup. Sir Dragneel arrives with 6 other armed soldiers._

_¨Erza?¨ She wipes her eyes but doesn't answer._

_¨Erza, tell me what's going on. What were you doing with that knife?¨_

_She cries harder, shaking her head. Jellal's men hurry down the hill to the side of the river, not knowing what to do. Dorenbold helps Jellal off the ground, Dragneel does the same for Erza. _

_¨She was going to stick it into your back, am I right, Lady Scarlet?¨ Dorenbold sneers._

No_._

_Erza stopped crying and grew still, Dragneel holding her hands behind her back. Jellal stood there staring at her, trying to understand._

_¨What do we do?¨ Dragneel asks, he sounded scared. He was only seventeen._

_Jellal needed to do something, he couldn't just sit there and do nothing. He had been trained his whole life to be a leader, to be betrayed by his most trusted._

_He straightened up his cloak and cleared his throat, ¨Tie her up. Put her in one of the empty tents and put eight guards on watch,¨ this time he doesn't hide the betrayal in his voice, ¨She's dangerous.¨_

* * *

A knock on his door wakes him up, and the setting sun told him he had been asleep for hours. Sighing, he rubs his eyes and says, "Come in."

Chelia walks in, holding a stack of reports. She places them atop the-already-too-tall-pile on his desk and curtsies.

"Dinner is ready my lord,"

"Tell Wendy I'll be there shortly."

Chelia nods and takes his finished papers on her way out. He gets up and stretches his sore back, regretting the position he chose to fall asleep in. He goes to the bathroom and splashes his face with cold water. The bags under his eyes and his matted hair made him look like a zombie. He felt like one as well. He barely slept at night and rarely ate, he was too busy, too many things were on in his mind, too many things to do. And now, the person who haunted his dreams when he did get sleep was in his dungeons, still playing with his mind after three years of being apart.

A guard walks with him to the dining hall where his sister waited for him at the unnecessarily long table. He takes the seat next to her and she smiles at him.

"How has your week been Wendy?" Jellal asks. She only came home from private school two days a week with the exception of holidays.

"Oh it was alright, lots of learning and homework. Nothing much to report, your week was probably much more interesting," answers Wendy as a maid sets their plates in front of them.

Jellal chuckles, if only she knew. "I guess you could say that."

She looks at him, concerned, "Why? What happened?"

"Do you know what happened in Magnolia's capital yesterday?"

She nods solemnly, and he continues, "Well, this morning when the search party I sent were looking for survivors in the ruins of the capital of Magnolia, they found someone from the enemy's side. She and two of her soldiers had gotten split up with the rest of her troops when the search party had found them. My men killed the two soldiers but they recognized her and brought her here. She is in the dungeons."

Wendy stays silent for a moment, thinking of what to say.

"Well, that's good news right?"

Jellal shrugs, not knowing the answer. In political terms it would be excellent news, but personally, it was the worst thing that could happen. He had been able to go through most days without constantly thinking about her. His distraction that first year had affected his decisions for the state. He was never going to let that happen again, especially not because of a snake like her.

Wendy pats his arm reassuringly and smiles, "Get some rest tonight, Chelia told me that you don't sleep that much anymore. And if you don't sleep for your welfare, sleep for the state's welfare. It needs you."

She was right.

"I have too many things to do. I don't have time for sleep, just taking time off for dinner was a mistake."

He spoke without thinking, and he regretted it instantly. Wendy pushed her chair out from the table and walked slowly to the doors leading to her chambers. She wiped her eyes and left, sniffling. Jellal sighs and rubs his temple, wishing he wasn't such an insensitive jerk.

He forces down his food quickly and reluctantly heads back to his office. There was no more daylight to work by, so he had a maid light the candles in the room. The stack of papers slowly shrunk until there was none left. A sense of relief and accomplishment rushed through him, and he walked to his room. Though, his heart sank when he looked out the window and saw light appearing over the horizon.

* * *

_**Yayyy! Chapter 2! I hope you all enjoyed the Jerza angst, and I´ll have a new chapter posted in two days. Pray for Jellal, he needs some sleep. **_


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Gray and Juvia had been walking for hours and they had finally ended up at Fairy's Inn, within Hargeon's capital. It was the rendezvous point if they ever got split up from the others.

They had been separated in the woods on their way back from Clover. Giant wolf hybrids that live in the deep forests of Fiore called quadrupeds had attacked them and he and Juvia were chased away from the group, so they were alone walking to the inn.

"Do you think everyone is okay?" Juvia asks as they enter the building.

"I'm sure they're fine," Gray answers, she had asked that question multiple times, but what else could he say, that he thought there could be a pretty good chance their friends could be currently digesting right now? Her relieved smile gave him hope though, or maybe it was guilt.

As he entered the tavern he immediately felt eyes on him. His attention darts to a guy sitting in a booth. His legs were propped up on the table with his hands resting behind his head, and he was glaring at Gray. He glares back, and as they walk past his booth, Gray slams his hands down on the table, the punk didn't even flinch.

"What are _you_ looking at?"

The guy raises a mocking eyebrow.

"He didn't even look at you darling!" cries Juvia, trying to pull him away from the booth.

"He was glaring at me the second we walked in!"

The guy stands up, getting in Gray's face, wearing a smug smile, "I was just wondering if you were a pervert or an exhibitionist" he gestures to Gray, who was shirtless due to the heat of their trek through the forest.

"Yeah, you're one to talk you pink haired freak," Gray laughs in his face and the jerk loses his cool, raising his fist.

Gray got ready to block, but before the punch came, a blonde waitress ran up and threw water in their faces.

"No fighting allowed in here, so take it outside!" She says to the both of them.

"Lets go Gray, we don't want to get kicked out of another hotel," says Juvia, leading him to a table.

* * *

Juvia would not stop lecturing him. She had been scolding him since they sat down ten minutes ago. They had their food and a room to stay in, but the others weren't there yet and he was beginning to worry.

"We're lucky that waitress didn't kick us out, that could have been the third Inn this we-"

Gray stopped her before she finished, placing his hand atop hers, "I'm sorry about that, I guess I'm just a little on edge right now."

Her face turned pink instantly, and Gray smirked; it was too easy.

"Aww, how cute they're having a moment," a familiar voice mocks behind him.

He rolls his eyes before facing the rest of their team standing next to the booth.

"What took you so long?¨ Gray snaps, annoyed with the interruption.

His older sister raises her eyebrows, her eyes on Grays hand holding Juvia's. He snatches his hand away; now it's his turn to turn pink.

Ultear crosses her arms, growing serious. "We bumped into a general in the forest, luckily

she was alone other than two soldiers. They were easy, but… she could turn into a demon."

Juvia grows paler than usual, "General Strauss? How did you make it out alive?"

Midnight a man of few words, answers, "We ran."

Gray then noticed how beaten up the four of them were, as they sat in the booth with him and Juvia.

Once the others had ordered their food, they ate in silence, enjoying the first real meal after days of traveling.

* * *

"What we know now, is that Zeref has five generals, each of them commanding an army the size of Clover's military force, General Reap, General Strauss, General Scarlet, General Redfox, and the last one has never been seen. No one knows who it is, not even the other generals," says Ultear.

"I'm confused, how do we know this?" asks Gray.

Their group had gathered in the girls bedroom to discuss what they would do next. Yukino had fallen asleep on her shared bed with Juvia. Everyone was exhausted and wanted to go to sleep too, but this was the first time in three days they had had time to talk. They needed to plan.

"I overheard the she-demon talking before she spotted us," says Midnight, he hadn't said a word until now. What he meant was that he read her thoughts. His telepathy had proven to be quite useful. Until he started using it on Gray, that was just annoying.

"There's also the information on the assassin," chimes in Rogue.

"What assassin?" asks Juvia.

Ultear sighs, rubbing her brow, "Zeref has a traitor inside the Marguerite palace who could assassinate the lord any time he wanted to, and after it's done, they plan on framing Clover's lord for the murder. We don't know who it is, only that he has a high rank in the guard, and there are multiple high ranked guards."

Gray groaned in frustration, why couldn't things ever be easy?

"_Because easy is boring."_

Gray shot a glare at Midnight, who smirked.

"If Zeref is bold enough to assassinate two lords in one week, then he's more powerful than we think. He could probably take over the whole country. We need to take this information to the government," Juvia says confidently.

Rogue shakes his head "Our one rule is to stay outside the law."

"I know, but between saving the population of an entire country, and breaking our petty rule, I'd break it a hundred times over," Juvia argues back.

She was about to continue stating her case when Ultear held up her hand, "I would normally agree with Rogue, but Juvia is right. This problem is too big not to seek help. We know things that will save lives, Rogue."

Rogue didn't look happy, but he knew better than to argue with Ultear.

Gray stared at Juvia in admiration. She was so passionate towards doing the right thing. She would break any rule if it meant doing good.

"If we do tell, I know someone who will keep us a secret. We'll head to Marguerite in the morning," says Ultear.

Gray knows who she's talking about, but he wasn't sure if it was a good idea, they hadn't seen him in years. He could very well be unsympathetic to a bunch of outlaws and throw them all in a cell.

Gray wanted to ask questions but he was too tired to stretch the meeting out any longer, so they all went to their rooms to go to sleep. Rogue and Midnight took the two beds in their room while Gray slept on the couch. He didn't mind though, it was better than sleeping on the cold, hard ground in the middle of the woods.

* * *

**_Sorry this one is so short, to make up for it, I will post another tomorrow ;) Thanks for all of the views!_**


	5. Chapter 4

Working at the tavern was a nightmare. The men were either perverts, drunk, and most of the time, both.

At the end of her closing shift, she and a few other waitresses had to kick out the stragglers who were too drunk to understand the words "we're closed." She was given her tips, and she headed to the kitchens to find Sting. He was washing the last few pieces of silverware still left in the sink. He finished and she told him about the almost fight. He laughed, but then grew serious.

"Do you ever think we're going to find the people who killed mom and dad in a place like this? He asks her, a defeated look on his face. They had had this conversation before, and her response was been the same.

She tried to answer enthusiastically, "People from all over come here for a place to stay, it's the best hotel in Hargeon. If this isn't the place to run into them, I don't know what is."

He looks away, staring at the now locked doors of the inn, "Yeah, me neither."

He was only 16 and had to watch his parents be gruesomely murdered in front of him. She admired his strength for enduring something like that. She relieved the scene constantly, remembering the generals harsh voice giving the order to kill her mother and father, then laughing at them as they begged for mercy. She shivered, casting the memories from her head.

"Let's go to bed, I'm freaking tired," she yawns.

They climb the stairs to the second floor and Lucy waits for Sting to unlock their door. As she impatiently watches him fiddle with the key, the door one room down opens. It was the guy with the pink hair from the fight.

Locking eye contact with her, he says, "I need to talk to you."

Sting steps forward protectively, "Do we know you?"

The guy rolls his eyes, "Look I'm not trying to be creepy, but I overheard you two talking downstairs and thought you could help me with something."

She exchanges looks with Sting and asks suspiciously, "Help you how?"

"Help me take down the people who killed your parents," He says impatiently, "I'll explain, but not here, people could be listening. I'm Natsu."

"I'm Lucy, and this is Sting." Sting scoffed and angled his chin up, Lucy ignores him. " Where do you want to talk?"

Natsu looks around cautiously, "This way follow me."

She could tell Sting did not trust him, for good reason. She could tell Natsu was strong and if he turned out to have bad intentions, they couldn't just take him out with their unpracticed magic.

"I recognized you two from the papers. Lucy and Sting Heartfilia, right?" Lucy nods and he continues,"Your family has the royal crest, which means you can get me into lord Siegrain's palace."

"Why do you need to get in?" asks Lucy cautiously.

"I used to be an advisor in the Marguerite palace, and since I left lord Siegrain's side last year, I'm not aloud to go inside the estate freely as I choose anymore. Normally I'd set up a meeting like anyone else, but this is urgent and I need your help. The information I have, could be the turning point in the war. It could be the fall of the people who killed your parents."

The late summer breeze blew through the woods around them. Lucy could see Sting leaning against the inn's back door about 100 yards away, waiting for her return.

Sting had told her before she went into the woods, "I don't trust this guy. If anything happens, you know what to do. I'll just wait right here."

She clutched the necklace in her aprons pocket that would signal Sting that she was in trouble.

She doubted she needed to use it but she wasn't that naive.

"How is my family crest going to help?" Lucy asks him, stalling her answer.

"The crest gives you automatic entry, no questions asked, but it has to be you or Sting, or it won't go through and I'll be thrown in jail," he answers.

Lucy rolls the necklace between her fingers, she still had so many questions to ask, but she decided to say yes. Sting wouldn't be happy, but Lucy didn't care, working at the tavern wasn't getting them anywhere. They had been there for seven months, alone orphans with nowhere else to go. Maybe this was their chance.

"Good answer, I promise you won't regret this," he says and they head back to the Inn. Lucy says nothing, still unsure whether to trust him now or not. He definitely was not telling her everything.

"We'll leave at dawn, I'll meet you outside. Do you have other clothes than that?"

"Lucy looked down at her waitress uniform and blushed, "No."

"It's fine. We'll take care of that tomorrow," and with that, they parted ways.

She hurried Sting into their room and told him to pack, he was confused but obeyed.

Lucy rushed around and packed her few belongings in her bag. Sting did the same. He asked what was going on and her only answer was "we're leaving."

Sting made a face, "With that guy?"

Lucy rolls her eyes as she throws things into her bag: Change of clothes, combat knife, a wad of cash. "His name is Natsu, and we can trust him."

"We don't know that Lucy."

Lucy wanted to argue back, but she knew he was right. Natsu was powerful, and could easily overpower her and Sting. He could use them to get into the estate and kill them for all she knew.

But then, she knew she could sense a goodness about him that made her

guilty for doubting.

Lucy turned off the lamp that night, knowing she had to sleep but couldn't.

An excited adrenaline pumped through her blood, diminishing any thought of sleep.

She even used the trick her mother taught her: Close your eyes and don't open them. Find a comfortable position and don't move. Resist all urges to twitch or itch, so your brain

will think that your relaxed enough to sleep, and then it will turn itself off.

No such luck came to Lucy.

Hours ticked by as she sat on the window seat and watched the sky turn from black, into dark blue.

5:30 am. "Sting, wake up."

"Ughhhh. Noooooo."

"Sting! Wake up!"

"Who dirties dishes this early?"

Lucy chuckled at that, " You're never going to wash another dish in your life. We're leaving."

Sting rolls onto his side, revealing a goofy smile under his matted hair, "Oh yeahhh."

Lucy laughs and mimics him, "Yeahhh, now get up and get dressed, we're already late,"

The next 15 minutes were spent rushing around the room, picking up trash and packing the last few things.

They went downstairs and turned in their key to the room and their uniforms.

Natsu was waiting for them outside, checking his watch.

"You're late."

The sky was already beginning to show light. They were only about 20 minutes off but still.

"Sorry, someone wouldn't get out of bed," Lucy shot a look at Sting, who still looked half asleep.

He defended himself though, saying "At least I even went to bed!"

"Enough, let's just go," Natsu says before Lucy could think of a comeback.

They walked along the cracked cobblestone into downtown Hargeon.

The normally packed streets were scarce and abandoned. A chilly morning breeze blowing around them.

Many of the shops were starting to open, getting for another busy day. Natsu leads them into a

dark clothing store, though the sign said '**OPEN**'.

"Hello?" Natsu calls as he approaches the empty front desk.

From a back room somewhere, Lucy hears a loud thud followed by an array of curses, "Who buys clothes this early?"

A man emerges from the back, rubbing his head. He looked tired, and when he saw Natsu, annoyed.

He rolled his eyes "What favor do you need from me this time, Sir Dragneel?" he said Natsu's official name in a mocking tone.

"Well," Natsu starts, "I need access to your combat section."

The shopkeeper sighed, shaking his head. He gestured for them to follow as he led them into the back room.

Lucy had tried om outfit after outfit, but none of them fit right. They were either too tight or too revealing. While she dressed, she listened to the banter between Natsu and the shopkeeper:

"You still haven't paid me for the last favor I did for you."

"I know, but if you haven't noticed, I've been a little busy Max."

"You could've at least gotten me a date with that fortune teller," whined Max.

Natsu laughs, "Trust me, I saw her again and I assure you Lady Alberona is not someone you want to date. She's insane and only loves jewelry and whiskey."

Max scoffs, but doesn't argue back.

"Yo Lucy, you almost done in there? We're burning daylight," asks Natsu impatiently.

Lucy rolls her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I found one."

It was a green combat one piece that opened up at the chest revealing her bra. She picked out nylon stockings that went up to her exposed thighs. She also chose a whip that turned on with her light magic. She hooked her knife and whip to two leather straps around her legs.

She shyly pulled back the curtain of the dressing room, feeling exposed.

Growing up in the Heartfilia estate meant she had to dress proper, and this certainly did not qualify. Just to prove her point Max whistled and Natsu grew silent and blushed. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away, disgusted with both of them.

Sting took forever choosing something to fight with, but eventually, chose a sword that fit his taste. Natsu told them that they were about to step into enemy territory and they needed to be prepared to fight, hence the new clothes.

"I'll pay you when this is all over," Natsu says to Max.

"It's fine Dragneel, don't worry about it," he shakes his head, handing the three of them navy blue cloaks. Natsu nods in gratitude and they leave the shop into the cold morning. Lucy gladly put the cloak on, covering herself up.

As they walked away, Lucy could hear Max say, "Save this kingdom."

* * *

_**NALU! I hope yall enjoyed that, thanks for the views! Next chapter on Sunday morning (American time)**_


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Gajeel walked through the streets that were now his. Almost all of the buildings were damaged, but he didn't care, they had won this battle, and Magnolia was now theirs. The library he approached was still in good condition, though the building neighboring it had been reduced to a pile of rubble.

He walked up the stairs and tried the door handles. Locked. The stone door shatters against his iron fist and he enters, coughing through the dust from the door.

Zeref had asked him to get every book on "fortresses" he could. Even fantasy books with castles anything. Gajeel assumed he was preparing for their biggest threat: Crocus but he never knew with that guy.

He tossed random books in the sack, anything with castles. He found quite a few -to his surprise-

And moved down the different aisles. While he searched the last aisle of the library he heard a small noise, like a sniff. He wasn't alone.

"Who's there?" He calls.

No answer.

He cautiously moves toward the back wall dropping his heavy bag. Libraries are the worst, they give him the creeps and they smell like old ladies. Maybe he was just being paranoid. The thought fleets him as he stares through the back bookcase into a pair of big scared eyes.

The bookcase falls as he rips it out of the wall, revealing the girl. The small compartment she was hiding in was no more than 3 feet wide, she pressed herself into the wall in fear.

She looked harmless, but Gajeel caught the glint of a blade behind her. He steps towards her, and she swipes the air where his head had been. He doesn't bother dodging the next swipe and catches her wrist, stopping the knife inches from his face. With her free hand, she punches him over, and over again. Enjoying her struggle, Gajeel watches in amusement until she gives up, panting, her knuckles bruised from punching pure iron.

Gajeel couldn't help but grin as he watched her cry, knowing she had lost the moment he had found her.

"Gihee, what should I do with you? Should I kill ya? Or bring you back to home base?

Neither would be too hard." He squeezes her wrist hard and she drops the knife.

"Just kill me, please kill me!" She begs, crying even harder. Pathetic.

"Alright, I'll kill ya, stop cryin'," he lies, having no intention of doing that just yet. He does knock her out though, thumping her head with his fist.

He carries her over one shoulder, the books over the other, and heads back to their temporary headquarters.

He enters the hotel, nodding at the two guards on post at the entrance. As he heads up the stairs to the top floor suite, two soldiers pass him on their way down the stairs.

"Hey, you two!" Gajeel calls down to them.

They immediately stop and stand at attention, "Sir!"

"Take this to my room," and hands them the girl. He couldn't wait for later.

He finishes climbing the stairs and knocks on the only door in the hallway, guarded by four soldiers.

"Enter," a girl says. He opens the door and looks around the suite. Zeref was sitting at the desk surrounded by papers and books, while Mavis played with their young son August on the floor. She looked more like an older sister than his mother, she and Zeref still looked like teenagers. The curse of their magic didn't let them age, though, to Gajeel, it didn't sound too much like a curse.

"I apologize for sending you on such a small errand, General, I would normally ask Lt. Sherry, but she's on patrol currently," Zeref says as Gajeel enters.

Mavis' eyes gleam as she stares at the sack of books. He drops it on the ground next to her and says "It's fine, I wasn't doing anything important. Any news on General Scarlet?"

Zeref stops writing and turns around in his chair, "Yes, unfortunately, yesterday, Marguerite's state patrol caught her off guard and took her captive," though he didn't seem too beaten up about it.

"Well, that sucks. Are we going to get her back?"

"Lieutenant Vastia plans to retrieve her when he assassinates the Lord of Marguarite, but it seems a bit risky to me," Mavis chimes in, already looking through the books in the sack.

"Well have fun figuring that out. If you don't mind sir, I'm gonna take an hour off," Gajeel says, already heading for the door, not waiting for permission.

He closes the door and heads downstairs to his room. Two guards stand on post at his door, and they salute him before unlocking the room, "General Redfox, Sir!"

He walks in and slams the door behind him, flopping onto the bed. The girl was laid on a blanket at the foot of his bed, still unconscious.

Gajeel was bored, he wanted her to wake up.

He was sharpening a knife when he noticed her deep breathing go quiet. She sits up and rubs her eyes, confused. Finally. He couldn't help the grin creeping onto his face.

"Rise and shine sleeping beauty," Gajeel teases, still paying attention to his knife.

He looks up to see her realization, the look of horror and fear on her face, it was amusing.

* * *

The screams from the general's room hadn't stopped for twenty minutes. The soldier looked at his comrade on shift with him: her face was white and her hands shaky.

This evil man was the person he was supposed to be taking orders from? He pitied the poor girl that had been carried into General Redfox's room shortly before he had returned. The soldier couldn't comprehend the horrors being done in there.

After another agonizing 10 minutes, the screaming quiets into defeated sobs and General Redfox opens the door, pulling a shirt over his head. The soldier tries to hide his disgust as he watches the General chuckle and wipe sweat from his face. He strolls down the hallway as if nothing had happened.

Once he was out of sight, the soldier takes the keys out from his belt and unlocks the door. "Soldier what are you doing?" His comrade asks, she sounded scared.

"This is wrong," was his only explanation as he opened the door.

The room was hot and stuffy and a complete mess. The sheets were torn off the bed onto the floor and a lamp was shattered in the carpet.

The soldier hurries to the corner where the girl sat holding her knees to her bare chest, crying. He reaches out to hold her hand, but she flinches away in fear.

"I'm so sorry. I-I wish I could've stopped him, but I couldn't. Is there anything I can get you?"

She looks at him with red, puffy eyes. "Water" she manages to utter that one word with her scratchy voice, worn out from screaming.

The soldier hurries to the bathroom section of the room and fills a cup with water from the sink. He also takes her tattered clothes from the floor and a towel. He gives her the water first and she sips it slowly.

Her neck was covered in bruises and her arms were scratched up. There were purple rings around her wrists from where General Redfox had pinned them, and her legs were stained with dried blood. He sets the towel and clothes next to her and stands up.

"Don't leave," She begs, terrified.

He sighs, "I have to, I could get executed for this."

She nods understanding.

"I'm Jet by the way."

Her weak smile made him angry, she didn't deserve this.

"Levy."

* * *

_**I know I know, Gajeel is horrible and I´m horrible for making him horrible. Sorry for the short chapters, I promise they´ll start getting longer**_


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Lady Wendy?"

A knock on her door turns her attention away from her book. She had locked herself in her room since the disappointing dinner with her brother the night before.

"Come in."

Her guard Warren opens the door and says, "You have a visitor."

Since when did _she_ get visitors?

"Name?"

He pulls a note from his pocket and reads, "Ultear Milkovich."  
Her heart jumps. She hops up from her window seat and almost runs out the door in search for her friend, but thinks better of it.

Trying to compose herself, she stutters, "Have her wait in the library, for me."

"Very good M'lady," Warren closes the door.

Wendy runs to the mirror to redo her pigtails. She throws on a long cardigan over her casual court dress.

Sighing, she says to herself, "I guess I look presentable."

A guard escorts her to the library, and he had to jog in order to keep up with Wendy's hurried pace.

She rounded the corner into the library and spotted Ultear sitting patiently on the couch, sipping a cup of tea.

"Ultear!" Wendy cries, she forgets all of her manners and jumps into her arms.

"Oh Wendy, you've grown so much!"

They hadn't seen each other in almost three years, the last time being at her father's funeral. Ultear had been the one to comfort Wendy while Jellal stared blankly at their father's closed coffin. His body had been too distorted to show to the public.

Ultear and Jellal had been best friends growing up and she was like an older sister to Wendy.

Holding Ultear at arm's length, Wendy's excitement fades as she sees the grave look on Ultear's face.

"You're not just here for visiting, are you?"

Ultear shakes her head, "I am afraid I bring bad news."

* * *

The cup of untouched tea had grown cold in Wendy's hands as she clutched the sides.

"-and I'm sorry to say, they're in the castle as we speak. They could strike at any time they please."

"Are they only after Jellal and Erza? Or me as well?" Wendy asks.

"I'm not sure. But just in case, we need to get you somewhere safe."

Wendy shakes her head, "No. We need to warn my brother, he's in a conference with Clover's lord right now and they could both be in danger."

Ultear smiles, "You are a very brave young lady Wendy."

Wendy smiles back, so very happy to see her old friend again.

* * *

Natsu, Lucy, and Sting had walked the whole day and throughout the night, they took a train. Natsu did _not_ get a good night's sleep. When they finally got off, his stomach was in knots and his head spun. He immediately found the nearest trash can and emptied his breakfast. Natsu had always hated trains, or any vehicle at all really. This was the reason he traveled on foot everywhere, though this emergency was a rare exception.

"Geez! Are you alright?" Lucy was there next to him, rubbing his back.

He wipes his mouth with his sleeve and flashes his trademark grin, "A lot better now that I'm off that train."

Her cheeks turned pink and she broke eye contact, looking around the deserted platform.

"Why isn't anyone here?"

Natsu guides up the stairs to ground level, "Well, not many people come to see Lord Siegrain's estate on a casual Saturday like today."

They reach the top with the breathtaking sight of the estate, though,'estate' was an understatement. The great building with its looming towers and thick wall looked more like a palace.

Natsu leads the three of them to the front gate and Lucy takes out her necklace with the Heartfilia family crest. She shows it to the guards and they let them through without a question.

Perfect.

A set of guards on the other side of the wall escorts them through the elaborate gardens to the main entrance where a butler waited by the door for them. It was hard to believe Natsu had lived here for almost five years, he had changed so much since he had left.

"Lady Lucy, young Lord Sting, I am honored to meet you and to see you in good health," the butler's smiling face turns to Natsu, "and to who do we owe the pleasure?"

Natsu lowers the hood of his cloak and says, "Sir Dragneel, first advisor to Lord Siegrain."

The butler's jaw drops and he stares at Natsu in disbelief.

Growing impatient, Natsu snaps, "This is an emergency, where is Jellal?" not bothering to be formal.

The man hesitates for a moment, still in shock, before answering, "In his study, having a meeting with Lord Ivan of Clover."

Natsu's heart stopped.

"Shit!"

He shoves the butler out of the way and sprints down the hall.

* * *

**_I broke my promise, this one is so freaking short. I apologize. I'll update tomorrow!_**


	8. Chapter 7

_**I really hope everyone enjoys this chapter, this one was so much fun to write!**_

* * *

Chapter 7

Laxus loomed over Jellal's shoulder, explaining the extra military security around the borders of their states sent from Crocus, pointing at different points on a map. It was nice to know the king might actually care about his kingdom because until now, he hadn't lifted a finger to help.

Jellal tried to concentrate on his words, but his head was swimming from lack of sleep. If he would have just gone to sleep for a few hours he could have been functional. Now, instead of this important meeting, all he could think about was a nap.

Noise outside the door causes Laxus to stop talking. Jellal's guard goes up when he hears yelling and then two thuds. After a few moments of silence, the door bursts open and his advisor runs into the room, reappearing after leaving the face of the earth 10 months ago.

"Stay away from him Jellal, he's a traitor! He was sent to assassinate you and Wendy and free General Scarlet from prison!" Natsu pants.

Jellal glances back at Lord Ivan and sees that he is equally confused, and maybe a little mad. The shock of Dragneel's return quickly fades and turns into anger.

"How _dare_ you?" Jellal exclaims.

Now it was Natsu's turn to be confused, "Wait… What?"

"Did I stutter? How dare you disappear for a _year_ and barge in here like you own the place! You left when I needed you the most, and now you think you can just come back, unannounced, accusing my guest of treason."

Natsu looked surprised, but defended himself, "Are you kidding! I came back to save your life, your welcome by the way."

Jellal slammed his hands down on the desk and stood up abruptly, knocking over his chair, "What you _did_ was interrupt a very important meeting and humiliate us both!"

Natsu looked about ready to explode when Lord Ivan interrupted, "Do you have proof of this accusation?"

Jellal could tell he had caught Natsu off guard when he stuttered, "I-well, uh-"

This time it was Wendy who burst through the doors of his study panting, "Jellal! There's a traitor! In the palace! Sent to assassinate you and free General Scarlet from the dungeons!"

Jellal stared blankly at his little sister.

"Are you okay? I saw the guards in the hallway and thought…" She burst into tears.

Lovely.

"I'm fine Wendy, it's okay, you don't need to cr- Ultear!"

His old friend was laughing in the doorway. Wendy had pulled Jellal into a long embrace and was crying even harder than before. Natsu stood dumbfounded and Laxus looked just as confused.

"Alright stop!" Laxus yelled.

The room went silent besides a sniff from Wendy.

"Someone explain what is going on, one at a time please," he said the last part as if they were children and pointed at Ultear. Jellal got the feeling he had had enough of Natsu.

Ultear sighed before answering, "I got word about an assassin in the palace and came as soon as I could to warn you, but you were occupied, so I talked to Wendy instead."

"Did you catch the name of the traitor by chance?" Jellal chimes in.

She shakes her head, "No, but I do know that he is a high ranked guard."

It didn't narrow it down much, but it proved Natsu wrong.

"Was there anything said about Lord Ivan?" Jellal asks Ultear, though shooting a look at Natsu.

"Yes actually," Ultear says, "They're going to frame him for the murder, that way they can kill two birds with one stone."

Jellal's head reeled. Either Natsu was misinformed, or he too, was a traitor in on the plan.

The room broke out in yelling, Natsu yelling at Laxus and Ultear, Laxus and Ultear yelling back, all while Wendy cried even harder into Jellal's shirt. It was chaos.

Jellal tried to get everyone to calm down by yelling, "The real problem right now is trying to catch the assassin!"

The doors of his study opened once again, revealing the last person in the world he would've expected.

"That won't be necessary," says General Scarlet. She was dragging his Captain of Guard along by his cape, with his hands cuffed, unconscious.

The whole room went silent. Even Wendy's crying.

"Here's your traitor."

* * *

_Erza knew she shouldn't have been relieved that she had failed her test, but to see him standing there in front of her, _alive_, was a reward of its own. _

_She stood crying next to the river with her hands being tied behind her back, looking into his face. She could see the sadness and betrayal in his eyes. He loved her._

_The crying turned into sobs, he didn't deserve this._

_She ignored the talking around her. None of it mattered, she would escape in the end. _

_Glancing at Jellal again, she felt the guilt. She regretted it. All of it. Leading him to the river. Pulling him into the embrace. Taking out that _damned _knife._

_She remembered her last report to Zeref, when she had told him that she didn't think she could kill Jellal, because she loved him. Zeref's words had not been expected._

"_I understand. Love is a very intricate thing, Lieutenant Scarlet. Say I was forced to kill Mavis, I would kill myself instead in a heartbeat. I don't want you to do that, so if you can't kill him, don't. Though, I will have to assign you a new test, so your promotion to general will be postponed. Don't think about that though, I want you to make the best decision for _you_."_

_Erza knew from the start she wouldn't be able to do it, but-like an idiot-she had decided to try anyway, and now she had gotten caught._

_She composed herself and stopped her tears, god, she really needed to toughen up. She looked around, evaluating her situation. There were 1, 2, 3, 4, 5… 8 guards plus Jellal, each with a drawn sword. Her hands were bound. _

_She liked her odds. _

"_Put her in one of the empty tents and put four guards on watch. She's dangerous."_

_She couldn't help but smirk. A tent and a few guards might hold her for ten minutes if that._

_She takes in a deep breath, double checking her bindings to see if they were real rope._

_Perfect._

_Erza stepped back with her left foot, swinging her shoulder into the guard behind her who had tied her hands. He cried out in pain and collapsed coughing when she hit his jugular. She jumped over her bound hands and cut her bindings on the sword of the guard next to her. Hands-free, she snatches the sword from the fallen soldier out of the grass while dodging two blades thrust at her. She faced the seven remaining guards with calm concentration. They each had their sword ready, guarding Jellal, who stared at her, horrified._

_Just before she lunged forward to attack, two arms wrapped around her legs and she stumbled forward, almost impaling herself. She sprung backward, and angrily stabbed the sword into the chest of the soldier on the ground. He cried out, and so did Jellal._

"_NATSU!"_

_The soldiers starred in shock at their dying comrade and Erza took this advantage to punch the guard to her right in the face, using his shock to steal his sword. She swiped her sword to block another blade and decided to run for it before reinforcements came. She looked back one more time as she sprinted up the hill toward the camp. There were five soldiers on her tail, while the other two stayed behind with Jellal. He was yelling at them, panicking, trying to save the young soldier's life. _

_Jellal would never forgive her._

_She ran through the camp and found her tent. She was in there for four seconds, grabbing her bag and weaponry belt from the cot and slicing a hole in the back wall of the tent. She waited for the first guard to emerge from the hole and shoved a dagger in his throat._

_Jellal would never forgive her. _

_She pulled the sword back out and ran, listening to the surprised cries as the dead soldier fell backward into the others. _

_She began to cry again as she made her way through the military camp, heading towards the forest._

_He would never, _ever _forgive her._

* * *

Erza woke with a start. That was the third time she had had that dream since the visit from Jellal, and quite frankly, it was getting annoying. Thankfully though, she had moved to an actual cell with a _bed_. Her first night had been miserably spent cuffed to the metal chair in the interrogation room.

After ten minutes of studying the grimy wall of her cell, voices from outside wake her from her daze.

"Lord Siegrain has ordered the prisoner Erza Scarlet to be brought to him at once."

Erza recognized the voice as her first Lieutenant Lyon Vastia, who was also Jellal's Captain of Guard.

"Yes, Captain Vastia, Sir!"

The lock in the metal door clicks and it opens with a loud screeching sound. Vastia walks in with a pair of handcuffs and she stands up, playing along with the act.

_Make your choice Erza._

Just before he clicked the first cuff around her wrist, she spun around and slugged him in the face. He stumbles backward, blood spewing from his nose.

"General, what the hell!"

Choice made.

She wasn't _ever_ going back.

* * *

_**So, I'm only going to be posting once a week due to school and the fact that I don't have any more pre-written chapters. Sorry y'all! See ya next Tuesday ;) **_


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The guard ran into the cell, ready to take Erza by force. She grabbed him and threw him hard into the wall and she pulled Lyon out of the cell. She slammed the door and turned the key still in the lock. She pinned Lyon's head to the side of the wall, smearing blood on the bricks.

"How dare you! Let me out of here!" The guard banged on the metal door.

The guards down the corridor were all getting ready for the order from Lyon to incapacitate her, but instead, he calls, "Stay where you are. I will handle this," then mutters, "Could you be a little less rough General?"

"Yes, Sir!" there were at least a dozen guards on each side of the dark corridor. She would have to get out of there quick.

"Where is Jellal right now?" She whispers into his ear.

"In his study," Lyon answers through gritted teeth.

Impatient, she pushes his head harder into the wall, he grunts in pain.

"_Where_?"

"Up the stairs to the third floor, it's the last door of the left hallway."

She releases him, taking the handcuffs and his sword.

"Lead the way, _Captain_," she mocks, poking his back with the tip of the sword.

Erza waited until the top of the third floor to knock him out, she didn't really feel like dragging him the whole way.

All of the guards in the hallway were gone, which meant she had a fight free pass to the last door of the left hallway. Before she entered Jellal's study, she snuck into the room before it and searched for paper. The room had a bed, a nightstand, and not much else. She opened the second drawer of the stand after having no luck with the first, to find three untouched sheets of paper and a few pens. She hastily scribbled onto one of the sheets:

_This is the best decision for me._

Erza stuck the note into Lyon's pocket and put the handcuffs on him. She put them on in front of him and loosely, so he could reach the key in his pocket that was next to the note and give it to Zeref if he somehow managed to escape.

She picked up the sword and dragged Lyon to the door of the study. There were four guards unconscious outside the door and there was yelling coming from inside the room.

She heard Jellal's voice.

"The real problem right now is trying to catch the assassin!"

It looks like she was right on time.

Erza opens the door and the yelling stopped. "That won't be necessary," she says, entering the room.

She drags Lyon further and then drops his cape, stepping out of the way for Jellal to see.

"Here's your traitor."

Jellal's eyes were fierce with anger as he pried himself out of his sisters grasp and lunged for his sword on the desk in front of him. He pointed it at her and yelled, "Drop your weapon!"

She dropped the sword and it clanged on the wooden floor.

He then points to the wall to her right, "Sit. Over there. And _don't move_."

She did as she was she told, casually walking to the other side of the room, and sat down with her legs crossed in front of a bookshelf.

Erza recognized everyone in the room, the Lord of Clover stood next to Jellal and his little sister Wendy. The other two she vaguely remembered from her few months at the military camp. She had never liked Ultear, she always got too comfortable with Jellal during her short visits to the camp, and Jellal's advisor Sir Dragneel, whom she thought she had killed.

"It's nice to see all of you again," Erza smiled, tilting her head.

Jellal narrowed his eyes, "I don't think _any_ of us can say the same Erza. How-What are you doing out of-?"

Erza pointed to Lyon, "He let me out, but I decided to bring him to you," she made herself sound like a child.

Jellal's eyebrows knit, "Why would you do that?"

Erza shrugged.

He shook his head, "Are you… okay?"

She smiled at him dreamily, "Of course," she loved messing with his head.

* * *

Jellal had been yelling at his soldiers since they arrived ten minutes ago.

"Due to your lack of responsibility and effort, me and Lady Wendy's lives were at the mercy of our enemy. I know Captain Vastia _said_, 'He could handle it'! He _obviously_ couldn't! And after that, you wait _ten full minutes_ to come and check on me! That is ten minutes that I could've been killed in and the state invaded! If Marguerite had fallen today, it would have been on _you_."

Erza watched as the guards nodded sheepishly, it was amusing how pathetic they were. She hadn't moved from her spot on the floor, and Jellal hadn't acknowledged her since he exasperatedly exclaimed, "She's crazy!"

Sir Dragneel, Wendy, and Ultear had all been escorted from the room, which left Erza, Jellal, and Laxus.

"Now, get _this_ out of my sight." He gestured to Lyon who had woken up and was kneeling at Jellal's feet.

Two of the guards took his arms and pulled him to his feet. They were leading him to the door when he froze. One of the guards tugged on his arm and Lyon let his handcuffs fall.

He found the key.

Lyon hit the guard in the face with his elbow and ditched the other, running through the cluster of men, straight to Jellal. He grabbed Jellal's shoulder and whipped out a knife from his boot.

Lyon had his knife to Jellal's throat and twenty guards with their swords pointed at them. Erza knew they weren't going to be able to do anything though, not with their master's life on the line.

She was the only one who could save him.

She glanced at Jellal, who was looking at her in the corner of his eye. He then looked at the sword in his hand, and then back to Erza. She knew what he wanted her to do, but did he seriously trust her?

"Lower your weapons, and your precious lord doesn't get hurt."

Lyon was really bad at lying.

Erza silently crawled toward the center of the room where the desk was. Lyon and Jellal were backed up against it with the guards forming an impenetrable semicircle of pointed swords. Luckily, the men weren't stupid enough to listen to Lyon.

"I thought I told you to do something!" Lyon yells, pressing the knife a little harder into his neck. Jellal inhaled sharply and the guards inched closer. Erza got behind the desk and stood up, reaching for the sword in Jellal's left hand. She touched his hand and her heart leaped.

His warm hand against hers.

She swallowed the feeling to think about later and took the sword from him silently, Lyon hadn't noticed her yet. The guards had though, their attention nervously moving back and forth from her to Lyon. She put her finger to her lips and put the point of the sword up to Lyon's back, he tensed when he heard her voice.

"First Lieutenant Vastia, this is your general, and I command you to drop the knife. Right. _Now_."

He hesitated.

"Are you disobeying your general?" She asks cooly, pressing the sword harder.

He winced and dropped the knife, it clattered to the ground.

"Now, release Lord Siegrain."

He didn't.

She pressed the sword even harder, it would soon break flesh.

"_Now_."

He reluctantly let him go and Jellal stumbled away, turning around to watch Erza.

Lyon also turned around, glaring at her, she smiled back mockingly.

Four guards this time, approached Lyon, and she lowered the sword from his back. She gave it back to Jellal and she might have looked at him for too long, because he turned away quickly, cheeks pink.

Erza watched as the guards took Lyon's wrists and placed them in the thick metal cuffs. They never got the chance to lock it though. Lyon thrust his knee into one of the guards' groins and punched another in the face, flipping over the desk and running toward the giant window. There was yelling and a crash, Lyon had jumped out the window.

"Find him at once!" Jellal orders, and all but four of the guards rush out of the room. One was still on the ground, trying to recover from when Lyon kneed him.

Erza walked to the hole in the window, wondering what Lyon was thinking, jumping from three stories up. She peered out of the broken glass, expecting to see a broken, lifeless form at the bottom, but instead found a large pond. How lucky.

While she was searching for the runaway, she eavesdropped on the hushed conversation between Jellal and the three guards.

"What do we do with the general?" One of them asked.

Jellal sighed, "I do not know."

"Put her back in her cell?" Another suggested.

Erza grimaced.

"No, no, I'll figure it out, just leave her here and join the search for Vastia."

The three guards gaped at him, Erza felt as surprised as they looked.

"You want us to leave her here, with _you_? _Alone_?"

Jellal rolled his eyes, "God, how helpless do you think I am? I am perfectly capable of handling myself thank you very much. I have some things I need to discuss with the general anyway. Now, would you please escort Lord Ivan to his guest quarters and help with the search?"

Jellal gestured to Laxus, who was casually lounging in the chair to the desk.

He smirked and said, "Well Lord Siegrain, I should come to visit Marguerite more often, that was quite the entertaining afternoon."

Jellal laughed, "I assure you, it was not planned."

Once the guards had all left, Erza turned from the window and watched Jellal. He was sitting on the edge of his desk with his head in his hands. He looked stressed, it was probably her fault.

"Please sit down Erza."

She really loved it when he said her first name.

She walked to the chair Laxus had been in and sat down.

He looked up from his hands and smiled. It was a small one, barely even there, but it was real.

"Thank you."

* * *

**_Yayyyy! Jerza! here's this weeks chapter, I hope __y__'all__ liked it ;) And, umm... reviews?_**


	10. Chapter 9

Lyon was furious. After escaping the palace, he had stumbled through a forest of underbrush and vines that tripped him with every step. He had no weapon, but luckily, he hadn't seen any sign of a quadruped yet. He followed the sun to what he hoped was west, trying to stay in the shade. The heat was suffocating, and he had the urge to strip himself of his uniform, but thought better of it. He couldn't report to Zeref shirtless.

Almost six hours later, panting and sweating, Lyon found the clearing. The tents stretched on for about a mile, and in the middle, Lyon could see the large red tent where Zeref and his wife would be staying.

He stormed through the camp, ready for the day to be over. Soldiers stared at him with confused expressions. He ignored the questioning comments and made his way to the red tent with haste.

He got to the front of the tent and almost went in when he heard Zeref's stern voice, "I have never been more disappointed in one of my generals before."

Did he already know?

"General Redfox, you need to remember, we are not monsters. The world sees us as the villain yes, but we don't need to give in to the title. And what you did to this poor girl, is the most villainous act you could do to another person."

Lyon could tell Redfox was doing everything he could to not strangle Zeref when he said, "HA! That's rich coming from you. _You_, who have murdered thousands-"

"_War_, is different from simple _pleasure_. Get out of my sight, I'm sick of looking at you."

Lyon quickly moved away from the entrance, but apparently not quickly enough due to how General Redfox slammed into him on the way out, muttering, "Ice boy."

Lyon rolled his eyes and entered the tent. Zeref was sitting on a large blanket that covered most of the ground, sorting through a mess of papers and books spread around him.

He looks up and gives Lyon a half smile, "Ah, Lieutenant Vastia. I assume you bring bad news, considering you're here without General Scarlet or Lord Siegrain's head."

Lyon nods, silently cursing General Redfox for putting Zeref in a bad mood, "She betrayed us, Sir. General Scarlet prevented me from eradicating the lord and refused to come back with me. She gave me this."

Lyon handed the damp, crumpled note to him. Zeref read it and snarled, a black aura surrounded him and his eyes glowed red. The note disintegrated in his hand. Lyon took a step back, though Zeref's anger quickly faded as he composed himself.

He took a deep breath and smiled, "Well Lieutenant, would you like to be promoted?"

Lyon walked out of that tent on top of the world, and when he saw who waited for him outside, he flew even higher.

"Meredy! I've been promoted!" He grabbed her around the waist and spun, both laughing. He kissed her but she pulled away, nose wrinkled.

"You stink."

Lyon frowned, "I'm glad you think so highly of me."

She laughed and rolled her eyes, "No! I mean you _stink_." She waved her hand in front of her face.

She was probably right, considering his jump into the pond and six-hour hike.

She pulled away from him, nose still wrinkled, "Now, how about you tell me about this promotion."

She began leading him to their tent and he beamed, ready to tell her everything.

"_After_, you take a bath."

Natsu had been escorted from the study four hours ago and was being held in a detaining room for questioning. No one had come to question him yet, and he was bored out of his mind, not to mention angry. That no good prostitute had given him false information that made him look like a traitor and a fool.

He glanced over at the decent sized dent in the wall he had made an hour ago, he would have kept punching, but his knuckles were too sore. So he sat in the corner fuming, thinking of the different ways he could make that girl pay for lying to him.

_They all must bow to you._

Natsu slapped himself. The voice in his head kept on talking nonsense about power and Natsu tried ignoring it until he couldn't anymore. He resulted in screaming until it stopped, it took a while for the voice to realize that he wasn't listening and it said, _You will understand soon_, before finally shutting up.

He slammed his head against the wall a few times to make sure it was gone, and laid down, curling up into a ball. The voice would talk to him every time he would get a bad thought, egging him on. If anything, it encouraged him to stop thinking things like that.

The splitting headache that came ten minutes after the voice hit Natsu in waves, which led to more screaming. Natsu clutched his head, panting, bracing himself for the next wave of pain.

He cried out as a thousand knives dug into his skull. Tears began streaming down his face but he didn't feel them. The last thing he remembered was begging, begging someone, anyone to end it. A tiny black dot formed in the center of his vision and grew until it was the only thing he could see.

He woke up to someone pulling his arm around their neck. The person helped him up and Natsu decided he should probably open his eyes. It was Jellal, half-dragging him to one of the chairs in the center of the small white room.

"What happened to you?" he asks, he looked worried.

Natsu tried to say 'I don't know' but made an incoherent noise instead.

Jellal set him down into a dented metal chair that Natsu had used to throw against the cloaking lacrima that he knew was there. He made a pretty good guess Jellal had seen his fit on the floor.

Jellal sat in the chair on the other side of the table looking at Natsu, concerned.

"Are you alright?"

Natsu laid his head on his arms and muttered sleepily, "Yeah, I just get really bad headaches sometimes, how long was I out?"

"Only a few minutes. Where did you get the false information from?"

He was getting straight to the point.

Natsu sighed and sat up, "There was a girl I met in Hargeon. She claimed to be an escaped slave of one of the Generals and gave me the information, but she was obviously just trying to mislead me. Don't know why though"

Jellal sighed and looked down.

He didn't believe him.

"Look, I know it sounds fishy, but I'm telling you the truth. I promise. I only barged in on your meeting because I thought you were going to be killed, I wasn't trying to frame Lord Ivan."

Jellal shook his head in frustration, "I don't know what to do. I don't know if I believe you."

"Well, why not?" Natsu deadpans.

Jellal glares at him, "Because right now, I don't know who to trust right now, my Captain just tried to murder me if you missed that little detail."

Natsu rolls his eyes, "Could you at least get me out of this cell?"

Jellal considered a moment before answering, "Yes. I believe you have someone who's very worried about you."

Jellal escorted him through the halls Natsu had memorized in the five years of living here. Two emotionless guards flanked them, staring blankly ahead.

Natsu felt horrible for completely ditching Lucy and Sting. They had come all of this way on blind trust just to be left alone again.

Jellal opened the door to _Waiting Room #4 _and ushered him in. It was a small room, a couch, and a few chairs and small side tables. Sting had laid himself on the couch while Lucy paced the short length of the room.

"Goodness Lucy you're going to wear a hole in the floor," says Sting, not noticing Natsu yet.

Lucy looks up to argue with him but sees Natsu and a relieved smile replaces the stressed frown on her face.

"You're okay!" She ran to him and gave him a hug.

Startled, Natsu slowly returned the embrace, saying, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

He could feel the burning red on his cheeks.

This received a knowing look from Jellal which Natsu ignored.

Lucy released him and curtsied to Jellal, "I'm glad to see you're safe M'lord."

Jellal smiles and bows back, "The pleasure is mine Lady Lucy and young Lord Sting."

Sting, who was still lounging on the couch, looked up and his eyes widened, scrambling to stand up to properly greet Lord Siegrain, earning a disapproving glare from Lucy.

Jellal chuckled and faced Natsu, "Thank you for bringing them to safety, Sir Dragneel."

Natsu flinched at his former title, he studied Jellal who talked to Lucy and avoided eye contact with him. Did he just address him as first advisor?

"Now, if you would follow me, there are people waiting for us." Jellal gestures to the door and the three of them followed behind him, exchanging confused glances.

What people?


	11. Chapter 10

_**I decided to post a day early because it's my birthday and I can do whatever I want, ;) enjoy! (Also it would be cool if you could give me a review, they really help and I like knowing what you guys think of my story(And it's my birthday *wink wink*))**_

* * *

Chapter 9

Gray and his team had waited for over four hours before a few guards escorted them through the hallways to a large room. He assumed it was where council meetings were held, due to the enormous table in the center. It had half a dozen chairs on each side and a captains chair on one end. They occupied the left side of the table, awkwardly avoiding eye contact with Zeref's general seated opposite of them. Ultear had told them everything in the waiting room. How General Scarlet had brought Lyon to Jellal even though she could have escaped. Gray wasn't surprised when his sister had told him Lyon was the traitor, he had always hated the creep.

The general sat back in her chair, arms folded over her chest and scanned the room, occasionally glaring at Ultear, who scowled right back. This went on for another five minutes before the doors opened to the Lord of Clover, and Jellal's little sister, whom Gray hadn't seen in years. She smiled brightly at him and his sister, before hesitantly taking a seat next to the General. Clover's lord took the spot next to her, looking quite bored.

Shortly after Wendy had arrived, Jellal and three others walked in and joined them at the table. Gray recognized two of them, the guy with pink hair he had almost fought with two nights before, and the blonde waitress who had stopped them from doing so. There was another boy who looked to be about Rogue's age with blonde hair as well.

Jellal sat down at the head of the table and laced his fingers together.

Clearing his throat, he says, "I know most of you are wondering why I would bring such an odd assortment of people together, but just hear me out. Each one of us has a reason to hate Zeref and his 'Arcana'. This meeting could be the beginning of the end of Zeref's reign of terror once and for all. It has been too long for my taste."

Ultear gestured to General Scarlet, "What about her? Didn't she murder Lord Dreyar and lead the invasion of Magnolia, _five_ days ago?"

Jellal bristled, "Let me finish and I will answer all questions."

Ultear scoffed while Scarlet smirked.

"Zeref has an army of two thousand men stationed about thirty miles outside of Marguerite, prepared to invade once Wendy and myself are assassinated. We have prevented them from doing so for now, but it's only a matter of time till they try again. Me and Lord Ivan have been in a meeting for the past three hours and we have come to the conclusion that our estates are no longer safe. The guards we have are no match for Zeref's spies and assassins, so we've decided to leave the false safety of our homes and fight back. I have a plan to take him down, but I need everyone's help. I cannot discuss it here, any one of my guards could be a traitor, but I promise I will explain everything if you agree to come with us."

He looked around the room hopefully, waiting for people to say they'd join him.

Gray glanced to his team, Ultear furiously switched glares from Jellal to General Scarlet. Both of them ignored her. Midnight and Rogue looked indifferent about the decision, Yukino seemed scared, though, she always looked scared. Juvia was radiating determination as she raised her hand, not waiting for anyone else's approval, "I will help in any way I can M'lord."

Gray quickly joined her and raised his hand.

Midnight, Yukino and Rogue all waited for Ultear to reluctantly raise her hand before joining her.

Both General Scarlet and Lord Ivan nodded, and Wendy gave an enthusiastic thumbs up.

"Hell, I've got nothing better to do," says the guy with pink hair, "I'm in."

The blonde girl answered last, but confidently, "Me and Sting would be happy to join you Lord Siegrain."

Jellal smiled, relieved, as if he thought no one would join him, "Thank you, so much. I want to leave as soon as possible, as I said, the estate is dangerous. I will have everything ready for us tomorrow morning. Everyone needs to be in the courtyard by nine."

"_Thank you."_

_Why was he thanking her?_

_This surely couldn't make up for everything she's done. She had killed so many without remorse. "Your welcome," then as if she was reading his mind, she said, "I don't expect you to ever forgive me for what I've done, but I want you to know I'm not lying when I say I am sorry."_

_She was right, he would probably never forgive her. 'Sorry' wouldn't bring his father back._

_He walked to the window and watched her in the corner of his eye._

"_What about my father? Are you sorry for killing him?" He finally spoke, breaking the silence._

_Erza tensed, "That wasn't me."_

_Jellal spun on his heels to face her, "But _you _gave the order, am I wrong!"_

_She said nothing and looked away._

"_That order, turned my eleven-year-old little sister into an orphan!"_

"_I'm sorry," she whispered._

_Jellal said nothing, tired of yelling, tired of being angry, tired of blaming her. _

_After a torturous, long minute of silence, he softened his voice, "What about… April 20th?"_

_She angled her head down, letting a few locks of grimy hair cover her face. It took her a while to answer, "It… was the worst day of my life."_

_He heard a sniff and his eyes widened._

_She was crying._

_Jellal's feet moved by themselves, taking small, cautious steps toward her. Erza was faced away from him, so she flinched when he touched her arm._

What are you doing?

_She turned her head to look at him, eyes wide with surprise. Her look softened though, as she stood from the chair and faced him. Jellal took another step, closing the distance and put his hand on her cheek. He wiped away the tears on her face and leaned in._

_It was possible he could never forgive Erza for everything, but it wouldn't stop him from loving her. _

_Their kiss was slow and hesitant, both of them unsure. He brought his other hand to the back of her neck while she placed her arms on his shoulders, softly touching his hair. He moved his hands to her waist and deepened the kiss, bringing her closer. She kissed back, but then something inside of him snapped._

_His conscious woke up and pushed himself away from her. She let out a little gasp of shock and he turned his head as he let go of her waist._

"_I… I shouldn't have-" he cleared his throat, not knowing how to finish._

_Erza let out a nervous laugh, "Oh, of course not! I am so sorry-"_

"_No," he cut her off, "I'm the one who should… Sorry."_

Jellal slept like a baby for a full nine hours that night. He woke up panicking he overslept, but to his relief, he still had two hours to make last minute arrangements. After he finished triple checking his things, he decided he was ready and went to visit his sister. While he walked through the hallway, he thought about the events of the day before. Everything had happened so suddenly and it bewildered him, he couldn't have guessed he'd get almost assassinated by his captain, and then saved twice in ten minutes by his evil ex-girlfriend.

He was very wary about her, what if she decided to just kill everyone? She definitely had the skills do so. She was right though, he would die if he stayed here, so it didn't really matter because he would die either w-

"Oh! I am so sorry-"

In his hurried pace, he had run into Erza while turning the same corner. She reached for his outstretched hand and he helped her off the ground.

"You sure are in a hurry," she teases, "I was just on my way to see you."

"I was just going to talk to Wendy about something," he answers, noticing they hadn't released each other's hands yet.

She noticed too and slowly let her hand slip out of his. After their kiss in the study, he had called for Chelia and they awkwardly avoided eye contact while they waited. He had told Chelia to escort Erza to one of the guest bedrooms. It was so strange to have her by his side again after so long. He knew he probably shouldn't trust her, but there was something different about her this time.

"Are you worried about her?" Erza asked.

Jellal sighed, "Yes. I'm afraid I could be putting her in danger taking her with."

"Well, she'd be in just as must danger by staying. The other groups joining us also have kids her age as well right?"

He knew she was right, but he couldn't help but feel like he was sending his 14-year-old sister to her death.

"Yes, Yukino is fifteen, and Sting and Rogue are both sixteen, but I just hate that if I want to protect her, I have to put her in even more danger."

"I understand, but didn't you start traveling with the military camps when you were her age?"

Jellal nodded, though it didn't make him feel any better.

Erza continued, "She deserves to see beyond the walls of this estate."

"You're right," he said, though he hated saying those words. It felt like a defeat.

She smiled sympathetically, "It's okay, we'll keep her safe."

He nodded again, not sure what else to say. He noticed she had taken a shower and had fresh clothes on. Her newly brushed, silky red hair fell perfectly around her face and onto her shoulders. After a long moment of silence, he realized he was staring at her. He didn't look away though, and neither did she. Jellal started to crane his neck toward her and she tilted her chin up. He took a small step toward her, but then stopped.

He ripped his eyes away from her gaze and casually glanced around the hallway. She cleared her throat and they stood there awkwardly, not addressing what had almost happened.

Jellal couldn't stand the silence and said, "I've got to-"

"Oh yes, of course!" She interrupted, waving her hands around.

They exchanged nervous smiles and parted ways.

He shook his head as he walked off in the other direction.

He was an idiot.

* * *

_**The update day is still Tuesday, today is just a one-time thing ;)**_


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 10

Levy didn't know what to think of her captors. The first three days were a living hell, full of pain so excruciating she thought she might die. But when the army moved their base to a forest outside of Marguerite, her guard friend, Jet, had brought her to Zeref himself instead of the terrifying general like he was supposed to. She stood next to the wall of the tent silently, listening to Jet explain what happened to his leader.

"General Redfox did this?"

"Yes, sir."

Zeref sat silent for a moment, very calm, before answering, "Thank you, loyal soldier, for bringing this to my attention. I will take care of everything from here. You are dismissed."

Jet saluted and turned around to leave, but paused and looked at Levy. She pleaded with her eyes, _don't leave._

Jet glanced back to Zeref and he said, "Don't worry, no harm will come to the girl. You may leave now, soldier."

"Yes, sir!" And with that, her only friend left her. He left her with the man who had planned the attacks on six states in Fioré and invaded them successfully, including Magnolia, her home. He looked surprisingly young, maybe a little older than her.

Zeref was studying different pieces of papers and had four books laid out in front of him. One of them was open to a map of Fiore, she recognized another as a strategy book. He opened a large scroll and laid it on one of the books and stared at it for a minute. The scroll was a large blueprint of what looked like Crocus palace.

She put together the pieces and realized he was planning his attack on Fioré's capital. A wave of fear rushed through her and she shuddered, wanting to run. She had nowhere to go though. No home, no family.

Her eyes welled up and she let the tears fall as she studied her grimy hands. She hadn't bathed in almost a week and her clothes were filthy and torn after violently being ripped off her several times in the past few days. Her whole body was sore and weak, especially her legs, and riding horseback for six hours had made it ten times worse.

Zeref was completely ignoring her and didn't seem at all bothered by her sobs. She ended up sitting down with her head in her hands, trying to calm down, but couldn't until she heard another voice join her crying outside of the tent. At first, she thought she was losing her mind until a very short blonde girl ran into the tent, holding a crying baby.

"Will you take him? I need a break!" she asked, sounding exhausted. Zeref set down his blueprints and took the screaming baby from the girl.

Zeref rocked and muttered to the child until it calmed down. The girl sat down next to him and slumped against his shoulder.

Levy sniffed and the girl noticed her.

"Who's this?" she asked as she studied Levy.

Zeref was still looking at the baby when he softly answered, "General Redfox found her in Magnolia and decided to keep her as a pet. A soldier in Redfox's division brought her to me a few minutes ago."

The girls' confused stare turned into sympathy and Levy refrained herself from breaking down again.

The girl got up and walked into the "room" on the other side of the tent where a large tarp was hung, acting as a wall. She came back holding a bundle of clothes and handed them to Levy.

The girl smiled innocently, "We should be about the same size, right?"

Levy frowned, the slightest bit insulted. The girl couldn't be older than thirteen. Levy was eighteen.

The girl pointed to the room and said, "Go change."

Levy slowly stood up, and walked to the room, ignoring the ache in her legs. She changed quickly, fearing being exposed for too long. She wore a black shirt and white trousers that were a little too short for her legs. There was also a long white coat with the Arcana insignia on the shoulders. She reluctantly put it on, she hated wearing their symbol, but the collar covered the embarrassing bruises on her neck.

While she was pulling on the coat, she heard Zeref talking to a guard on the other side of the tarp.

"Go retrieve General Redfox. I need to discuss something with him."

_No_.

She wanted to hide. Her breaths shallowed and her eyes welled up again. She didn't leave the room and tried to stop hyperventilating.

The blonde girl peaked her head in and asked, "Everything okay in here-"

She stopped when she saw the tears on Levy's face. "Oh, don't worry, we're leaving before the general arrives. We're going on a field trip!"

It was the best news Levy had heard in days.

Although she in no way shape or form trusted this girl, Levy much rather preferred going on a "field trip" with her than being in the same room as that monster, even if there were two other people present.

Levy nodded and wiped the tears from her cheeks. The girl gestured for Levy to follow and she did, exiting the tent.

They headed along a row of tents, and then another before the girl said, "I'm Mavis, what's your name?"

"I'm Levy."

Mavis smiled at her and continued leading her through the city of tents. They passed soldiers and Levy was surprised to recognize a handful of them from Magnolia. They must have recruited them when they attacked.

Levy heard a horribly familiar voice come from the tent they were walking towards and shuddered. They passed the tent right as he walked out, and she was face to face with the man who would forever be in her nightmares. She froze on the spot and he stared at her in confusion. Then he saw Mavis and regained his smug nature.

He smirked and looked at Levy's new clothes, "I see you've settled in."

She didn't answer and let Mavis pull her away, leading her down the row of tents. Levy dared to glance back at him, and saw him grinning at her as she walked away. She snapped her head back and tried not to break down again.

She failed.

After walking through the whole camp, Levy and Mavis had stopped at a stream a few yards into the forest that surrounded the mile of tents. Levy had managed to finally calm down after her encounter with General Redfox and had taken off her boots to dip her feet in the refreshing, cold water. Mavis had run off somewhere downstream to pick flowers, but Levy was too exhausted to try and follow.

She was so confused about everything that had happened in the past week. One minute she was captive to the most horrible person she had ever met, and the next she was on a playdate with Zeref's… little sister?

Who was she, anyway?

Levy thought about for a minute but decided she didn't care; as long as she wasn't the general's personal sex slave anymore. She shuddered; _anything_ was better than that.

"Are you okay now?"

Levy jumped and turned toward the voice. Mavis was standing a few feet away holding an armful of dark blue flowers.

"Who are you?" Levy asks her.

Mavis laughs and sits down next to her. "I already told you, I'm Mavis. Mavis Vermillion Dragneel, if you wanted my full name."

Levy narrows her eyes, "No. Who are you? What is your role in all of this?"

Mavis sets down the flowers and sits down next to her, dipping her already bare feet into the water as well.

"Well, what do you want to know? My part in our army, or my relation to Zeref? I can only guess which one you are confused about," she answers with a sarcastic tone.

Levy doesn't answer, and Mavis continues, "Zeref is my husband, and we built this army together."

Levy blinks. Mavis laughs again.

"But you're-"

"Only thirteen?" Mavis cuts her off.

Levy nods.

"Zeref and I aren't as young as we look," she said with a twinkle in her eye.

"What do you mean?"

Mavis smiled slightly, "We're actually ten years older than our physical appearance. I am 23, Zeref is 29, and the baby is our _adorable_ son August," she said the last part proudly.

Levy stared at Mavis, shocked, and opened her mouth to ask something else, but Mavis holds her hands, "That's enough questions for now. Do you like science?"

Levy paused, "Yes?"

Mavis rolled her eyes, "How many books have you read?"

Levy chuckled, it would take _years_ to count how many books she had read, "I have no idea. A few hundred, maybe more?"

Mavis beamed, "I knew I liked you! Come on, I need help with something."

Mavis pulled her arm and Levy grabbed her boots. Mavis scooped up the navy flowers while Levy tied the laces of her shoes. The two of them walked through the camp at a quicker pace than before; Mavis was really excited.

Levy tensed when they passed General Redfox's tent, and jumped when she heard a frustrated yell and a crash. Mavis hurried them past the tent and led them to the center of the camp.

Levy was panting when she entered the large red tent, and Levy stood in the entryway as Mavis ran inside. Zeref was still sitting on his spot on the floor, but he seemed upset. August was sleeping in a basket in the corner, swaddled in a blanket.

When Mavis emerged from the room bearing a bulky satchel and a bundle of white cloth, she handed the things to Levy and crouched in front of Zeref who was furiously scribbling something in the margin of an open book.

"Are you alright?" she asked him.

He stopped writing and smiled at her, "Lieutenant Vastia has returned."

Mavis' eyes went wide, "Are we invading soon? Where is General Scarlet?"

Levy was beyond lost and didn't even try to figure out what they were talking about.

Zeref's eyes darkened still smiling, "We aren't going to be invading anytime soon. Erza has made sure of that," he practically spat the last part.

Zeref didn't wait for Mavis to respond and said, "She prevented the assassination. If I ever see her face again, I will kill her myself."

"I knew she was never going to be able to kill him, but I didn't suspect her to betray us. What will we do?"

"I'm promoting Vastia to General. He has proven himself to be loyal," Zeref said as he shook his head and sighed.

"You made the right choice, you're a good leader, Zeref," Mavis said and kissed his head.

She walked to the entrance and glanced at Levy, "Let's go, we have things to do."

Levy followed her outside and they walked down a few rows of tents until they arrived.

There were four tables set up in a small clearing in the camp. The tables were covered with trinkets and glass vials and bottles, a few filled with different liquids. Four poles held up a large tarp that gave shade to the work area.

Mavis stopped behind one of the tables and gestured for Levy to give her the satchel. After Levy handed it to her, Mavis began rummaging through the bag and pulled out a water flask and a vial of cloudy white liquid.

"Flowers," Mavis extended her arm and Levy set the white bundle of cloth in her palm.

She poured the water into a bowl and unwrapped the cloth. Mavis picked one of the wilted flowers up with a pair of tweezers and gently placed it in the water. Unscrewing the lid of the vial, she grabbed an eyedropper from the table and very slowly placed it into the liquid. Mavis squeezed a drop into the bowl.

Levy watched the effects curiously; the second the drop hit the water, the flower petals shriveled up and turned transparent, leaving the water a dark navy blue. Mavis removed the dead plant and picked up a syringe and a clean vial. She filled the vial with the blue liquid and handed it to Levy.

She hesitantly took it from her and stared at it. Whatever the stuff was, looked ominous.

"Drink it."

Levy snapped her head up and stared at Mavis like she was insane. Mavis only shrugged and gestured for her to 'go on'.

Levy sighed and slowly moved the vial to her lips. She drank it quickly, but hesitated to swallow. The liquid tasted like water, except with a hint of sweetness and a starchy aftertaste. Levy wrinkled her nose at the texture but stopped when she felt a soothing rush of energy into her legs, the ache in her hips already going away. For a moment she thought she had been drugged, but realized she didn't even feel tired. She sighed and closed her eyes, enjoying the relief.

"How do you feel?" Mavis was smirking.

Levy paused, at a loss of words, "Amazing."

Mavis nodded, "Good. Now come here and help me, we have fifty more of those to make before the flowers die."

Levy tilted her head, "Why?"

Mavis looked up from the table and smiled, a curious glint in her eyes, "This is going to ensure the success of our cause."

* * *

**_Holy crap this was a long one. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I think the Gruvia shippers will enjoy chapter 12 ;)_**


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Juvia was exhausted. Jellal had been relentless with staying on schedule, so they had walked through the forest since 9 am that morning with few breaks. Everyone sighed in relief when Jellal had said, "It's too dark to keep going, let's set up camp here."

The campsite was in a small clearing, and through some trees was a pond.

During the long, hot, walk, Juvia had made friends with the other girls an the group (except Erza, Juvia wasn't so sure she wanted to befriend a murderer) and while the boys set up the tents they decided to go swimming and freshen up in the pond.

Juvia had to admit, it was beautiful, with the willow trees surrounding the banks and the luminescent flowers, it made it seem secret. The water shone from the glowing plants beneath the surface. There was a waterfall to Juvia's left that fell from a cliff not too far above them and was also illuminated by the glowing plants. The whole area was lit up even though the sky was a darker blue from the sun lowering behind the horizon.

None of them had brought anything to swim in, so they just put on the slips they slept in. They didn't talk about anything in particular and chattered about unimportant things.

While they talked, something in the corner of Juvia's eye caught her attention. She looked and saw Erza on the other side of the pond, stepping into the water. If she noticed them, she didn't show it. She set out her things on a towel and began washing her hair.

Ultear was intensely glaring at her and Lucy asked, "Why do you hate her so much? I mean, is there another reason other than her working for Zeref?"

Ultear rolled her eyes and chuckled, "Is it that obvious?"

Lucy shrugged.

"Well, I knew her when she was a spy at one of Marguerite's military camps three years ago. She was a normal soldier but caught the eye of Jellal, who was training at the camp at the time. She managed to get close enough to him to try and kill him. Luckily, she failed, but managed to get away and almost kill Natsu."

Lucy's eyes widened and glanced over at Erza who was too far away to hear anything that was being said.

"Why did Jellal let her come then?" Lucy asks.

"Because she saved his life yesterday and he decided that that was her redemption, even after three years of murdering countless people and betraying him. The fact is, he's a fool in love and will regret his hasty decisions."

Lucy and Wendy said nothing, though Wendy looked pretty upset. After all, Ultear _was_ criticizing her brother.

Juvia knew Ultear wasn't telling the whole story to Lucy, but kept quiet. The biggest reason for her hatred towards Erza was that before Jellal had fallen for Erza, it was Ultear who he was with. Juvia didn't blame him though, Erza was stunning, with her long, long, red hair.

Erza had left the pond as quickly as she came, completely ignoring the other girls there.

"Do you think we hurt her feelings?"

Ultear rolled her eyes, "Goodness Yukino, why do you even care?"

Yukino shrugged sheepishly and fell silent. They dropped the subject after that and soon got out to go back to the camp.

"Aren't you coming Juvia?" Lucy asked when she turned around and saw Juvia still in the water.

She smiled, "I'll be there in a few minutes, I just need some alone time I guess."

Lucy smiled back, "Alright, well, be safe."

Juvia nodded and waited for them to leave before she started practicing her magic. First, she did the warmup routines, moving the water back and forth in the air. Then she began the combat moves, shooting water in sharp, thin sheets at a large boulder near the waterfall. She practiced for another five minutes but decided she should go back before people got worried.

She had swam to where she set down her things and began drying off her hair when she heard footsteps a few yards off. Her guard immediately went up and she scanned the area cautiously, but then heard a voice call, "Juvia?" a voice that melted her every time she heard it.

"Yes?"

Gray was within her sight now, but he was covering his eyes.

"Are you decent?"

Juvia laughed, "Yes! What do you need?"

"Sorry, I just got worried cause you didn't come back with the other girls," He explained, removing his hand from his eyes.

Juvia felt her face turn red. "I'm fine, it's just so pretty here and I wanted to stay for a bit longer."

Gray kneeled down in the grass next to where Juvia stood in the deep water and looked around at the glowing plants and pond, but his eyes landed on her when he said, "Yeah, it is."

Juvia blushed even harder.

They talked for a few minutes, about little things, but she knew he felt it. The tension in the air between them made her heart race and it was hard to breathe. Before she knew it, she was lifting herself up from the water to meet him while he leaned down to meet her.

Their lips touched and her brain exploded. It wasn't their first kiss, but none were ever more than a second. This one felt like an eternity.

The moment was magical, with the quiet sound of rushing water from the waterfall and the swaying willow tree branches above them.

Gray broke first, and Juvia let out a breath she had been keeping in for a while. He helped her out of the water and kissed her again. Juvia fell into him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Every nerve in her body was going nuts from the feeling of Gray running his hands through her hair.

They stopped after a few minutes and stood under the tree in a long embrace. Juvia smiled and sighed into his shoulder as they swayed back and forth, not really caring how long they were gone now.

"Why all of the sudden like this?" Juvia asked.

Gray paused before stammering, "Well… I guess, it's just that-" He sighed, "We could die tomorrow, and I don't want to die without being with you for at least ten minutes."

Juvia smiled and hugged him tighter.

"I second that."

Their group sat around the campfire eating. Gray and Juvia still hadn't come back from the pond. Lucy was sitting in between Wendy and Natsu because Sting had ditched her for Rogue, whom he had talked to for the whole day. Lucy also had the slightest impression that Sting had an interest in Rogue's sister, Yukino.

Jellal had left with Erza, Laxus, and Ultear to discuss the plans for tomorrow and 'would be back soon.'

He had explained everything as they walked that morning. They would make their way through the forest to the other end of Zeref's army and camp there for a few days, to make it not suspicious when random people show up the day after Jellal and Laxus go missing.

After a few days of resting, they will send a group of three people unknown to Arcana's army and "get caught" by their patrol. According to Erza, they will give them a choice to join them, or die.

Everyone who stayed behind will then go to Arcana's main headquarters in Pavonia and wait for Zeref and his army to return. The group of three will report to Jellal and tell him what Zeref will do next. Jellal hadn't told them what they would do after that, but Lucy trusted him.

She took a bite of her apple and Natsu inhaled sharply next to her. His whole body tensed up and he began breathing hard.

"Are you alright?" she asks, worried.

Natsu cleared his throat and took a deep breath, "Yeah, I just need to get something, I'll be right back."

Natsu left to go to his tent and she ate the rest of her meal in silence, feeling a bit out of place between Yukino, Wendy, Sting, and Rogue. The four of them were all friends by now, so Lucy just listened to their conversation, that is, until she heard muffled screaming coming from one of the tents.

Everyone stopped talking and stared at the tent, Lucy stood up and realized it was Natsu's.

"Everyone stay here!" Lucy said as she ran to the center of the camp.

She pulled open the entrance flap and found Natsu curled up on the ground, screaming into a pillow.

Lucy fell to her knees beside him and pulled the pillow away so she could see him. It was surprising how weak his grip was, and she was even more surprised when she saw the tears streaming down his face.

"Natsu! What's going on?" She cried, trying to get him to calm down.

After a minute, the screaming turned into sobs, and then into panting.

Lucy stroked his hair and asked, "What just happened? Are you all right?"

Natsu whimpered.

"You need to tell me what's wrong, otherwise I can't help you."

Just like that, the weak child crying in her arms turned into an animal. He jerked his head toward her and grabbed her wrist, red, blood-shot eyes darting around the tent.

His voice was low and raspy when he said, "No one can help me, he'll never leave, he'll _never_ leave."

In shock, Lucy tried to pull her arm away, but he had it in a death grip.

"Natsu-let me go!"

His fit went away as quickly as it came, and his eyes returned back to their normal hazel color. He released her, fell onto her lap and began sobbing again.

"He's always there… always."

Lucy put her hand on his forehead to check for a fever, but he was freezing. "Who's there? Who are you talking about?"

"Just don't leave me alone. Not alone," he whispered, and then fell asleep.

Lucy sat there for a minute, trying to figure out what was going on. His body heat was returning, but he was nowhere close to being the right temperature. She dragged him to the cot and struggled to lift him onto it. By the time she was finished, she was panting and Natsu was snoring. She sat on the edge of the cot and watched him, thinking about how he had snapped. How his eyes had turned red. Terrified was an understatement for how she felt.

Lucy waited five minutes and stood up, she took one step and felt something grab her hand. tight.

She turned around and half expected his eyes to be red again, but instead, she looked into the eyes of a scared boy when he said, "Please, don't go."

He tugged on her hand and she consented, climbing under the covers with him. Lucy knew she was blushing tremendously, but Natsu had already fallen asleep again. She ignored the feeling of shame, it's not like they were doing anything anyway. She was only comforting him, but if Sting found out, she would never hear the end of it.

Lucy fell asleep with her back turned to him, listening to the peaceful sound of his breathing.

* * *

"Natsu, have you seen Lucy?"

Lucy's eyes flew open when she heard Ultear's voice outside the tent.

"She wasn't in the tent at all last night. The last time anyone saw her was when she went to check on Natsu." Juvia.

Lucy tried to get up but realized she was stuck. Natsu had his arms around her waist and his face so close she could feel his breath on her neck. Her heartbeat accelerated.

"Natsu, are you decent? I'm coming in," said Ultear from outside.

Lucy elbowed him in the stomach and hissed, "Natsu, say no!"

He winced, "Huh? -Uh-yeah, sure."

Lucy squealed and pulled the covers over her head as Ultear and Juvia walked in. She was too late though, they had seen her, in bed, with Natsu, who had lost his shirt sometime during the night.

"Oh my!" cried Juvia, and Lucy heard her quickly leave the tent.

Shit.

"All right you two, I'm giving you sixty seconds to get dressed and I'm turning around again," says Ultear.

Natsu quickly released her and they both sat up, blushing.

"What happened?" Natsu whispered.

"You were screaming, so I came to check on you, and then you asked me to stay… Uh, so I did," She answers.

"Forty-five, forty-four, forty-three."

"Stop it, nothing happened, we're both dressed. What do you want?" snaps Natsu.

Ultear turns back around and raises an eyebrow at the two of them, "We're packing up the camp. Breakfast is ready, so eat fast and come help us with the horses."

After she left, Natsu looked at Lucy and said, "I'm sorry. I get these really bad headaches sometimes, and I have no control over what I say or do."

Lucy nodded and remembered the crazed look in his eyes, his tight grip, the ominous things he had said.

_He'll never leave._

Lucy almost asked about it but decided against it.

She left Natsu's tent and entered the one she was supposed to have shared with Juvia. Juvia was sitting on the ground, packing her things back up.

Juvia blushed when she saw Lucy, "I'm so sorry for intruding, I had no idea-"

Lucy cut her off, "No, it's not like that. Natsu and I just met, we're just friends-" she sighed, "Natsu was alone for the past year, and he has bad nightmares sometimes. I stayed with him last night so he wouldn't be alone." It sounded close enough to the truth.

Juvia looked embarrassed, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to assume."  
Lucy smiled, "You're fine."

Lucy gathered her things and went to the fire where a breakfast of hard-boiled eggs and fruit waited for her. Sting was sitting there with Rogue, smirking at her. Lucy rolled her eyes and sat down across from them. Everyone else was there but Natsu and they all kept catching glances at her not-so-discreetly. It didn't help either when Natsu decided to sit next to her when he finally emerged from his tent.

Lucy finished her food as quickly as possible and she and Juvia took down their tent. They left the campsite and headed east, staying within about three miles of the right side of the Arcana army camp.

Everyone was pretty tired and didn't talk much, except for Sting. He did his best to be obnoxious, wiggling his eyebrows and making kissy faces at her and Natsu. He even went as far as muttering to Rogue, "Mmmmmm, Natsu!"

Lucy's face turned red in embarrassment and was about to slap him, but Erza turned around and glared at him before Lucy got the chance to.

"That's enough," was all she had to say and Sting didn't say another word.

About fifteen minutes into the walk, Midnight stopped abruptly, "There are six soldiers on patrol about 100 yards that way. They know we're here," He points directly in front of them, it was the first time Lucy had heard the guy speak.

Jellal immediately tensed, "Are they coming this way?"

Midnight nodded.

Jellal looked at everyone, clearly panicked. Erza placed her hand on his shoulder and whispered something in ear. His face fell and he glanced over at Sting, who was standing with Rogue and Yukino.

Finally, Jellal sighed and reluctantly said, "I know it's early, but it's time to start the plan."

* * *

**_This was _so_ fun to write, I couldn't stop so it ended up being super long, yay! I hope you guys enjoyed! Don't forget to review ;) See ya next week!_**


	14. Chapter 13

Jellal felt horrible. He was springing this dangerous mission on them so soon, with approximately 96 seconds to explain what they needed to do.

"I know there will be objections, but I have decided to send Sting, Rogue, and Yukino to the camp."

As he expected, there was disapproval from quite a few people.

"No, my little sister is _not_ going," Rogue.

"What the hell! Why not me?" Natsu.

"I'm with Rogue, I don't want Sting going," Lucy.

"I feel like it would be better if the older people went," Gray.

Erza chimed in, "I know it seems like the worst possible group, but you followed Jellal because you trust him, correct?"

Everyone nodded. She was an excellent leader.

"We talked about this for two hours last night, and we feel this is the only way we'll succeed. You need to trust us, now let Jellal explain."

Rogue reluctantly nodded and so did Lucy. The three teens stepped forward and Jellal felt another rush of guilt; he could be sending them to their deaths.

"When we leave, you three are going to walk straight into them. Act scared, but don't hide."

They nodded.

"Tell them that you're from Magnolia, trying to find refuge in Marguerite."

Jellal looked back at Midnight, questioning. He shook his head.

"We're out of time, I'm so sorry."

Lucy gave Sting a quick hug and they ran into the trees, leaving the kids alone on the overgrown trail. They stopped about 50 yards into the forest and watched them through the trees.

* * *

_Keep going, they're about 20 yards ahead of you._

Sting heard a voice inside of his head and looked around.

_Don't worry, this is Midnight. I'm going to help you three through this._

Sting exchanged nervous looks with Yukino and Rogue and they kept going at a slow pace. A little less than a minute later, he heard voices ahead. Yukino froze, but Rogue kept her moving.

A few more steps later, Sting saw them through the thick trees. There were two girls and four boys, none of them looked older than Lucy.

"Stop right there!" It was one of the girls.

They all obeyed and stopped in their tracks. The group approached them.

"Let me see your hands," said the girl in a firm voice. She seemed to be the leader, though she looked to be about Stings age and the youngest one there.

They all complied and three of the soldiers searched them. Stings weapon belt was taken, along with the dagger in his boot.

_Lucy says to take off your ring._

Sting's heart jumped when he remembered his family crest. If they saw his ring, it would all be over.

When the soldiers turned away with their weapons, he slipped the ring off and dropped it on the path, hiding it under his boot.

The leader stepped forward and stared at them. She had black hair and olive skin, her uniform was identical to the others except for a royal blue cape on her shoulders.

"What are three kids like you doing this deep the forest?" She asks.

_Tell her-_

"We could ask you the same thing," Sting shot back.

_Don't say _anything_ unless I tell you to._

The girl narrowed her eyes and Rogue shot Sting a look of annoyance.

"We're from Magnolia, our homes were destroyed, so we're trying to get to Marguerite," Yukino says, Midnight must have told her what to say as well.

The girl turns her head in the direction the rest of Sting's group ran and narrows her eyes. Did she see them?

She looks back to Sting and Rogue and asks, "How old are you and what are your names?"

_Say Damon Eucliffe._

"I'm Rogue Cheney, I'm sixteen. This is my sister Yukino, she's fourteen."

"Damon Eucliffe, I'm sixteen."

_She bought it._

"You three look smart, so I assume you know we're not going to let you get to your destination."

Sting glared at the girl.

She turned around and said, "You are going to have to come with us. Sorry. "

"May I ask where?" says Rogue.

"Home base," answers one of the soldiers.

The guardsmen filed behind the three of them and the leader stayed in front, leading the way. They had been walking for a few minutes when Midnight sent his last message.

_You're getting too far away, I can't keep the connection. Jellal says good luck, Lucy loves you. We'll see you in Pavonia if everything goes well._

Although Sting had been surrounded by the enemy for at least ten minutes, this was the moment he felt truly afraid. From this point on, he would be on his own. He glanced over to Rogue and Yukino, they looked as frightened as he felt.

* * *

dvCAfter about thirty minutes of walking, Sting could see the camp. There were white tents set up in rows and numerous soldiers walking between them. He could smell cooking food and hear the clanking of swords.

The leader had tied up their hands and dismissed the other soldiers, she was now leading them to someone named Lieutenant Seilah. They passed many soldiers on the way and Sting noticed how young they all were, the oldest one he had seen couldn't be more than 25.

They stopped at what Sting guessed was combat training in a small open area. The girl told them to stay where they were and walked to another woman. She was standing on the other side of the clearing watching the soldiers as they fought each other. She had pale skin and long black hair. Sting watched as the first girl talked to her, occasionally glancing their way.

After another minute of them talking, they both came back over to them.

The woman spoke first, "I am Lieutenant Seilah, and I understand you must be pretty frightened right now. We promise we won't hurt you if you cooperate, okay?"

Her voice was kind and soft, which seemed odd considering she was a Lieutenant. Sting and Rogue nodded.

"Good, now this is Captain Orland, and you will be taking orders from her." She gestured to the girl who had taken them in the forest.

"Follow me," she says, and she leads them through the camp once again.

She put Sting and Rogue in a tent together and took Yukino somewhere else. Rogue wasn't too happy about that.

Sting sat on the cot with his head in his hands. If they did one thing wrong, they could ruin the whole mission and end up dead. He had always been told that being the son of a Lord was dangerous, but he had never expected this. He was pretty much asking for an axe to the head.

"Who were your parents Rogue? How did you get involved in all of this?"

Rogue stared at the ground for a moment before answering, "We lived in the outskirts of Elmina when Arcana invaded. Yukino and I were running errands in town and ran back home once they started taking the streets. We got back and our house was on fire, my parents had died inside.

Ultear, Gray, and Midnight found us the next day."

Sting nodded, he didn't know what to say. Everyone had lost someone thanks to these people.

"My parents were murdered in front of me and Lucy. They snuck into the estate and had the four of us in my father's library, they slit my dad's throat, then my mom's. Then they put the knife to mine and since Lucy was next in line to be chatelaine, they threatened her to give the state to them or watch me die. So she signed the paper and the magic barrier dissipated, which let the armies into Pavonia. They were going to bring us to a camp to be trained as soldiers, but we got away in the chaos."

"I'm sorry."

"It's ironic, I ended up in the very place we had risked our lives trying to get away from."

Sting and Rogue spent the rest of their day like prisoners, they weren't allowed to leave the tent except to relieve themselves. Rogue was worried sick about Yukino and after about an hour of pacing, he lay down on his cot and put his hands over his face. When Captain Orland walked through the entrance of the tent, they both sat up and waited for her to say something.

"I'm not going to address you until you address _me_ properly, I am your Captain and superior."

He and Rogue hesitantly stood up and awkwardly saluted.

She walked around them and said, "Not bad for your first day."

"Where is my sister?" Rogue snapped.

"You do _not_ speak unless you are spoken to. Your sister is fine, now get some rest. You have a big day tomorrow."

Sting kept quiet, afraid to say something wrong.

"Do I make myself _clear_?"

Rogue and Sting yelled in unison, "Yes, Ma'am!"

Captain Orland smiled before leaving the tent, "I prefer, 'M'Lady."

* * *

_**Here it is! Phew, I have finals this week and it was so hard to write at all, but I managed to finish it in time, hope you liked the Sabertooth chapter. See y'all next week... (Reviews?) **_


	15. Chapter 14

_**It was almost three weeks late, but here it is! I'm so sorry though, it KILLED me on Tuesday when I couldn't post. I love all of you so much! I'll try to post on Tuesday, but idk if I'll be ready :/ Don't forget to review!**_

* * *

The production of the serum was going quite well thanks to the fact that Mavis had help and the amplifying properties of the blue flowers, they had been able to make 36 batches in one day. There were 50 doses in each batch, so they were way ahead of schedule.

Mavis glanced over at Levy, who was cleaning up the table they had been working at. She was very timid and flinched away if you got too close. Mavis suspected she hadn't always been like this and whatever Gajeel had done was really affecting her. Mavis shivered when she thought about all of the horrors he could have done in those three days. Never the less, if he hadn't taken her, Mavis wouldn't have gotten such a good assistant. In the past 24 hours, Levy had proven to be a very smart and hardworking person, never complaining about anything.

"I think we're done for today Levy, do you want me to escort you to your tent?"

Levy looked up and nodded, wearing a small smile of appreciation.

Mavis hopped off from her spot on the table and walked with Levy in silence until they found Lieutenant Strauss' tent. Mavis said goodnight and headed back to Zeref. She was proud of the decision she had made to put with Lisanna, for they had gotten along quite well already and Lieutenant Strauss' tent was not too far away from Mavis'.

Mavis approached her tent and Zeref stepped out just before she walked in.

"Oh, I was just about to go find you, Mavis."

She smiled, "Is that so? Well, I think you'll be happy to hear about the progress made with the serum. Is August sleeping?"

Zeref looked over his shoulder into the tent, "Thankfully, yes, I just put him down. Shall we?"  
He held out his arm for her and she gladly took it. They barely had time to spend together lately, and walking with him was a refreshing contrast.

They strolled down the rows of tents, not going anywhere specific, just enjoying each others company.

"Levy and I were able to produce almost 1800 doses of the serum today, with the right supplies we'll be able to reach our goal by the end of the week."

Zeref smiled, "That's the first good news I've heard in days."

Mavis grinned back at him, feeling quite pleased with herself.

"I have to admit, I didn't think that girl would be of any use to us, but I stand corrected," said Zeref.

She nodded, "Levy is a genius. She was able to use the Amaryllis flowers not just as a strength amplifier, but she also found that the stems have healing properties."

"What do we do when the flowers run out?"

"I had the idea of using the rubber tree sap to make the properties stretch with diluting it. This will make our soldiers have three times the endurance, strength, and magic power they did before, so we will have plenty extra."

Zeref's eyes widened, "You two really are an amazing team. I had no doubt in our success, but this serum is the final blow in the war."

Mavis giggled at her accomplishment and Zeref smiled at her, though, it quickly disappeared when he said, "I'm just not sure when we'll be able to use it. I mean, our invasion of Marguerite is supposed to be happening right now and our spy in the estate can't even find the lord. I got a messenger bird this afternoon reporting Siegrain is missing, along with Lord Ivan of Clover. If we aren't able to assassinate the lords, we can't even get into the state's border, much less take over."

Mavis thought for a moment before saying, "I feel like we're not worrying about the bigger picture right now. What about Crocus? How are we ever going to be able to get into the capital?"

Zeref's eyes lit up when he answered, "I have actually been thinking about that lately."

"Do tell."  
"Well, I think we should send a reconnaissance team into Crocus to try to scout the perimeter of the palace and the walls. I need blueprints of it as soon as possible so I can actually start planning the invasion."

Mavis nodded, "Yes, that is a problem. We have had spies in all of the estates for a while, but none in the castle. I think it is still too dangerous to have spies that close to the king though."

Zeref furrowed his brow, "We're getting too close to the end it would be dangerous _not_ to have spies close to the king. It's not he hasn't heard about us; We already own over _half_ of his kingdom already, why _not_ give him a scare?"

Mavis smiled, she had already planned out all of this in her head and she was just helping him 'catch her drift.'

Zeref stopped walking, "You're doing that thing again aren't you?"

She put on her best innocent face, "What do you mean?"

He rolled his eyes, "You know _exactly_ what I mean. The thing where you plan something and then when we have a conversation you make it seem like it was really me who came up with the idea?"  
Mavis giggled, "You got me, I guess you know me too well."

He sighed exasperatedly, but then laughed, "I guess."

At that moment she realized he was looking down at her with a small smile on his face. She smiled back and kissed him.

They began walking again and she noticed the soldiers around them staring in shock. Mavis chuckled, they all knew that she and Zeref were married, so what was the shock?

"Who should we send on the mission?" Zeref asked her.

Mavis immediately knew, "I need Campanula flowers and the only place they are grown in Fiore is the palace gardens, they're extremely rare. We can send Levy because she is the only one who knows what they look like."

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Zeref said.

"Why not?"

He sighed, "Well, I was thinking about having General Redfox be in charge of the mission, and I'm not sure the girl is quite spy material."

"It's not like they'll be alone together, I have full confidence in her sneakiness," Mavis said proudly.

Zeref chuckled and said, "Whatever you want, princess."

* * *

"First off, I'd like to thank everyone for meeting here on such short notice."

Levy silently chuckled to herself, it's not like any of them had much of a choice.

"Much has happened in the past week that you may or may not know about."

She stood in front of an army of thousands of soldiers, next to Mavis. She and the generals, and Lieutenants, and Captains ranked behind Zeref in a long line along with Zeref and Mavis' other assistants and spies.

Levy was surprised the open field was large enough for the legion of soldiers. There were five factions of the army each wearing black and another color. The Strauss faction was blue, Reap was purple, Redfox was green, Scarlet (soon to be Vastia) was red, and the middle faction with the unknown general was gold. It was quite intimidating seeing them all at perfect attention lined up in front of her like that.

Zeref went on, informing his troops about General Scarlet and her betrayal, how they weren't going to be able to invade Marguerite just yet, and the reconnaissance team being sent into Crocus. All things Levy had already been told by Mavis over the past few days while they had been working to make the serums. After about thirty minutes of Zeref explaining everything to his army, he started the promotion of Lieutenant Vastia to general. Then 2nd Lieutenant Meredy Maverick to 1st Lieutenant and Captain Kagura Mikazuchi to 2nd Lieutenant.

Another soldier was promoted to Captain, but Levy wasn't really listening anymore, her feet were hurting from standing in one place for so long and she was studying the Lieutenants of the golden faction. The three of them were the only smiling faces within a mile.

The 2nd and 3rd Lieutenants wore sinister smirks as they scanned the crowds, but the 1st looked cheerful. It was the first time Levy had seen any of the lieutenants besides Lisanna, but she was able to place the names Mavis had told her with their faces.

The woman with the green hair was 2nd Lieutenant Kyoka, The blonde was 3rd Lieutenant Jackal, and the last person Levy would have expected to be the 1st Lieutenant of the fiercest faction of the strongest army on the continent was named Happy. He had blue hair the same shade as Levy's and looked to be a little younger than her, 17, maybe 18.

Kyoka looked in her direction and Levy darted her eyes the other way to find someone else staring at her on the opposite side of the line. General Redfox.

It wasn't a stare that made her feel like a piece of meat, but it was still coming from him, which made her feel sick. She stared back at him, testing who would look away first. He narrowed his eyes and looked away. It was strangely satisfying to know she had won their little contest. She smirked and faced forward to listen to the rest of Zeref's speech.

Zeref finished speaking about ten minutes later and Levy followed Mavis and the group of high ranked officers out of the field and back into the camp, trying to stay as far away from Gajeel as possible. The camp was crowded with soldiers all walking through the paths, trying to get back to their schedule and the places they needed to go.

Levy managed to get back to her tent without being trampled and found Lisanna inside putting on elbow pads and a practice breastplate.

"Hey Levy, do you mind helping me with these straps?"

Levy smiled and walked over to her.

"Combat training?" she asked as she pulled the leather straps on the back of her breastplate through the buckles.

"Yeah, there are ten new recruits in the Strauss faction and Seilah asked if I could help out since I didn't have anything going on."

Levy finished with the buckle and said sarcastically, "Well, you have fun with that."

Lisanna laughed, "Certainly."

After Lisanna had left, Levy heard a voice outside her tent.

"Miss Mcgarden?"

She looked up from the book she was skimming through and went outside to find a soldier waiting for her.

"Your presence has been requested by Lord Zeref at the north training ground immediately."

"Um, okay," she answered, slightly confused.

Levy had to ask several random soldiers for directions to the north training ground but she finally made it to the open area without tents and approached three other people who were also waiting for council with Zeref. There was a training session starting, but they had more than enough room on the grounds. She noticed the other people requested by Zeref wore black, white and silver, marking them as Zeref's best spies.

A few minutes later, she saw Zeref and Mavis walking toward their group, followed by General Redfox.

Just her luck.

"Thank you for meeting here. As you all may have suspected, you are who I have chosen for the Crocus reconnaissance team."

Levy's eyes widened and she stayed silent when Gajeel and the three spies called out, "Yes, Sir!"

Zeref began explaining the mission and Levy noticed the looks of eagerness coming from the other four soldiers, they were excited to go on this suicide mission. Though it wasn't the suicide mission that she was worried about, she would have been fine with it if there was a different commander in charge.

"You will have five days to prepare and I'll see you off first thing on Sunday morning. Remember, this is a stealth mission, not assassination, only kill if you absolutely have to. We don't want anyone to know it was us that infiltrated the castle."

"And as for Miss Mcgarden," Mavis gestured to Levy, "She is going to need someone to sneak her into the palace gardens to get a very special plant. This is probably the most crucial part of the mission."

Zeref nodded and ended with, "Definitely. As I always say, respect each other and don't underestimate your enemies."

Levy joined her comrades this time, "Yes, sir!"

As Levy and the other spies parted ways, she overheard something Zeref was telling General Redfox, "If you lay a hand on that girl, there will be hell to pay. Do you understand me?"

Levy smiled as she headed toward her tent, knowing she would be okay.

"Yes, Lord Zeref."


	16. Chapter 15

They had been at the camp for almost 5 days, and Erza was sure she was going to lose her mind.

What was she thinking, sending three little kids into that death trap to do her dirty work? She had been feeling tremendous guilt since the moment she suggested to send the three kids on the mission. Erza was about to take it back and suggest Lucy, Natsu, and Gray when Ultear actually agreed with her.

Erza thought she heard herself wrong when Ultear had said, "I agree with Erza, she's right."

Jellal, Laxus, and herself had stared at Ultear in shock and she crossed her arms over her chest looking uncomfortable.

"What?"

Erza chuckled at the memory as she emerged from her tent, heading towards Lucy and Juvia's. As she walked, she noticed Natsu standing next to a water barrel splashing his face. She felt a bout of jealousy as she fully felt the stickiness of the heat around her.

He looked up and nodded at her in greeting and she gave a small smile back, though it quickly faded when she spotted the scar tissue on his bare chest. The scar Erza had given him 3 years before when he was still a teenager. She noticed how dangerously close it was to his heart and looked away in shame. It was a miracle he had lived through that.

"Lucy? Juvia?"

Erza heard Juvia answer, "Come in."

She entered and the girls were sitting on their cots in their thin slips, fanning themselves.

Juvia looked Erza up and asked in disbelief, "How are you in full armor right now?"

"I was going to train, but realized I have no one to do it with, would you two care to join me?"

Lucy propped her head up with her elbow and smirked, "Where's Jellal?"

Erza didn't give them the pleasure of a reaction and internally rolled her eyes, "He's on watch duty right now with Ultear."

The girls exchanged teasing looks and Juvia said, "I'd love to, just give me a minute to get ready."

Lucy stood up from her cot, "Me too!"

* * *

"You need to figure out your enemies weak spot, have you found mine yet?"

They had been practicing for about fifteen minutes on the edge of a stream outside the camp and the girls already looked about ready to give up.

Panting, Juvia asks, "Do you even _have_ a weak spot?"

"Everyone has a weak spot."

It didn't take long for Erza to figure out both of theirs. Lucy can't change aim quickly enough if her target moves in an unexpected direction, and Juvia fears hurting her opponent, so she doesn't put enough force into her attacks and stays on the defense.

Lucy smirked, "I know your weak spot."

Erza raised her eyebrows, "Is that so?"

Instead of elaborating, she whispered something to Juvia, who giggled in response.

Erza rolled her eyes, "If we're talking about _romantic_ weak spots, then I figured out both of yours long before you discovered mine."

Juvia blushed and Lucy frowned.

"I just _met_ Natsu."

Erza smirked, "And? Haven't you two already spent a night together? _You_ aren't so inconspicuous either," she turned her attention to Juvia, who blushed harder.

"It's not like that!" they both said in unison.

Erza shrugged, "I guess I could say the same thing about Jellal, but I'm not much of a liar."

She got into fighting position and before either of them could respond she asked, "Shall we continue?"

* * *

Erza had pummeled the girls. She felt a little bad for going all out, but their real enemies are going to show them no mercy when the time comes, so in the end, she was doing them a favor.

She had taken off her armor and was rinsing herself off in the stream to cool down when a messenger bird flew over her head, coming from the army base. Leaving her armor and shoes behind, she chased the bird through their campsite and into the forest again. It eventually landed a few yards ahead and when she caught up, she found it had landed on Jellal's arm.

"What does the note say?"

He jumped when he heard her voice and turned around.

"Here," he said as he handed it to her.

_We're okay._

_The camp is going to dissemble on Sunday to head back to Pavonia._

_There is a reconnaissance team being sent into Crocus the same day._

_The next target is Hargeon and they plan to invade in exactly two weeks._

_They're going to reveal the 1st general before the battle._

_Be safe, we'll try to as well._

_Rogue, Sting, Yukino_

"Hargeon," she muttered.

Jellal nodded, "We need to tell the others."

"Where's Ultear?"

Jellal pointed east and said, "I'll go get her, you go gather everyone else."

Erza nodded and ran back to the camp.

Once she had gathered everyone around the fire and Jellal and Ultear were back from patrol, Erza read the message out loud.

When she finished, Midnight was the first to speak, "Are we going to meet them in Pavonia?"

"That's the plan," answered Laxus, "How long is it going to take us to walk there?"

"Considering Pavonia is about 180 miles away..." Jellal thought for a moment before continuing, "If we leave tomorrow morning, we should be able to get there roughly in three days."

There were quite a few groans of unexcitement.

Jellal ignored them and said, "We'll be getting there 2 days before Zeref and his troops do, but there will still be guards and soldiers scouting the estate, so we will keep our guard up.

"The plan for when we get there is to split up into teams of two, which will make 5 groups. Team 1 will infiltrate the dungeons, free the prisoners there, and help them escape the estate. Team 2 is going to meet Sting, Rogue, and Yukino in the gardens and bring them back to the rendezvous point. Team 3 and 4 will split up inside the estate and look for any plans or information in the libraries and studies. Midnight who will be in team 5 is going to be at the rendezvous point outside the wall of the estate, communicating to each of the teams and telling us if anything goes wrong.

"If all goes according to plan, then we'll leave the estate with the kids, new information, and then head back to Hargeon where we will warn Chatelaine Karen that Zeref is coming for her next."

There were several nods and no questions, which meant the meeting was dismissed and everyone left to pack up the campsite.

Erza was putting away all of the fruit from the food table when Wendy walked over and began helping.

Erza smiled, "Thank you."

Wendy smiled back and nodded, helping her finish put away the rest of the food in silence.

When they finished, they began taking down the tarp that covered the table.

"How did you and Jellal meet?"

The question caught her off guard, and she hesitated, not knowing how to tell her the story.

"Sorry, that was random. It's just, you've had such an impact on him, but he never tells me anything about you."

Erza laughed and answered, "Well, I guess it's a long story."

Wendy nodded and took a seat on the table, indicating that she was going to listen.

Erza took a seat next to her and began, "About six years ago, my grandfather passed away and I was on my own. Two years later, when I was nineteen, I met Zeref and he asked if I would join his cause. I later found out it was much more than just a cause, but I was already caught up in the middle of it all. After about a year of serving him, I was in line to be promoted to general, but I had to do a mission as a test.

"The mission was to infiltrate the Marguerite military camp and assassinate the lord's son. Zeref knew he was nowhere close to being able to invade a state yet, but he said killing Jellal would make everything easier in the long run. So I went, and was recruited to be a soldier for the Marguerite military, where Jellal was training as well. I spent the first three months just trying to blend in, but-"

_Zeref had been getting impatient during the last two weeks, so Erza decided it was finally time to make a move._

"_Sir? Could you give me directions?"_

"_Of course, where are you headed?"_

_She immediately knew she was talking to the right person from just looking at him, his blue hair and the mark on his face completely gave him away. Jellal Fernandez._

"_Um, well, I just got out of basic training, so my commander told me to go to advanced combat," she answered._

"_That's where I am headed. Here, I'll just show you the way," Jellal said, flashing her a smile._

"_Thank you."_

_He nodded and headed east. She followed him, though she already knew exactly where she needed to go._

"_What's your name?" He asked when they were about halfway there._

"_Cadet Scarlet," she answered casually, "You?"_

"_I'm Jellal," he said._

_Erza raised an eyebrow, "Just Jellal?"_

_He laughed, "Young Lord Fernandez is my formal title."_

_She pretended to be surprised, "Oh, well it's a pleasure to meet you, M'Lord."_

_Jellal shook his head, "Please, just Jellal."_

_She smirked, "Well, in that case, you can call me 'just Erza.'"_

"_Erza Scarlet," he muttered._

"After that, we would see each other in between our schedules, after the long day of training, breakfast. Everyone knew what was going on, but we didn't really care. We were both at that camp to escape something, I was there to escape my responsibilities given by Zeref and he was escaping the responsibilities given by his father.

"We both knew deep inside our break would end eventually, but not as soon as it did. After about 3 months of doing everything together, Zeref told me it was time to wrap up the mission. I told him I didn't think I was going to be able to kill him, but that I'd try. Well, I did try, and I obviously failed. I was caught, but I got away, earning Jellal's hatred for the next 3 years and almost killing Natsu." Erza chuckled, "That's pretty much my life story."

* * *

**_I was asked what Jellal and Erza's backstory was, so here it is! The next few chapters are going to get really intense, so stay tuned. See you next Tuesday!_**


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Yukino watched in dismay as the messenger bird flew through the sky. Seilah stood next to her, wearing her usual sweet smile.

Yukino had visited Sting and Rogue's tent so they could send the bird with a message to Jellal, but right as they walked outside, Lieutenant Seilah was waiting for them. She had taken the bird and read the note out loud, smiling a bit wider when she read 'Jellal.' After that, the three of them had their wrists cuffed with magic sealing stone and watched as Seilah took out a new note, probably saying false information, and send the bird to Jellal.

Now, they were being taken to Zeref himself. Yukino looked at her feet as they walked through the camp, scared to accidentally make eye contact with anyone. When she did look up, she could see the red tent of Lord Zeref contrasting with the shorter white tents surrounding it. She tried slowing down so it would take longer to get there, but the soldier behind her grabbed her shoulder and shoved her forward. Yukino stumbled and quickened her pace while Rogue glared at the girl behind her.

Seilah stepped inside the red tent and the rest of them hesitantly followed.

Zeref was sitting on a blanket with Mavis with food spread out in front of them. They both saw the large group and exchanged a victorious glance. Mavis stood up and took their son from his bed and left the tent.

Zeref smiled, "Do you need something, Lieutenant?"

"Operation Blue of Plan A has succeeded."

He smiled wider, "Are these the spies?"

"Yes, Sir," Seilah answered in her soft voice.

Yukino's head was reeling. They knew the whole time?

"This is good news, did you already send the message?"

"Yes, Sir."

Zeref then turned his attention to Yukino and her friends, "Now, what are your names?"

Her brother answered first, "Rogue Cheney, this is my sister Yu-"

"She can speak for herself."

It took Yukino a moment to realize she needed to speak and Sting nudged her.

"I-I'm Yukino… Yukino Cheney."

Zeref nodded and then looked at Sting, who said, "Damon Eucliffe."

Zeref rolled his eyes, "Your _real_ name, please."

Sting furrowed his brow and glared at him, not saying a word.

Zeref tilts his head and narrows his eyes, testing him.

"I know exactly who you are, Sting. There's really no need for all of this," said Zeref a few moments later.

"How did you know about us?" Rogue.

Zeref smirked, "I guess I'll tell you, considering you won't live to tell anyone.

It's quite simple though, the second I heard of Jellal and Laxus' disappearance, I sent spies into the forest watching for anything. And guess what they found? A group of mismatched people who are all very valuable to me. My traitorous general, two lords, the missing Heartfilias and my dear brother. I have to thank Jellal for finding all of you, it saved so much time on my part."

"You couldn't have spied on us, Midnight would have noticed with his telepathy."

"I considered that could be a possibility, so I sent my shapeshifters to do the job, people who read minds can't understand animals thoughts. After I got enough information, I sent a patrol team to come and intersect your group, which led to you three coming here.

We kept an eye on you and knew about the messages you had been sending back and forth to Jellal, so we decided it was time to send one ourselves. Now that the note is sent, Jellal will probably leave tomorrow morning, thinking he will have a day or two before my troops get back to Pavonia, but in reality, we will be clearing out of this camp in the next hour. Your friends are going to play right into our hands and then we can take Marguerite and Clover within the next week. This worked out perfectly, so it would impolite not to thank you."

Yukino could feel the anger seeping out of Sting and Rogue, but all she could feel was fear.

They were supposed to meet up with Natsu and Lucy in the gardens in two days, but it occurred to Yukino they would probably die in the next few hours. They had underestimated Zeref, he had been a step ahead of them the whole time and now they had played right into his hands.

"I'm surprised Erza wasn't more careful with the plans, then again she was never one for planning that far ahead. Lieutenant Seilah?"

"Yes Sir?"

"You may take them away."

They were all going to die.

* * *

_**Sorry, I'm late again, I'll spare you my excuses and reward you all with the rest of the of the chapter tomorrow, I split it in half because it was almost 3,000 words! Enjoy, and don't forget to Review!**_


	18. Chapter 17

Lucy didn't realize how much she was dreading returning to Pavonia. She clutched Sting's ring in her hand, hard enough to engrave her family symbol into her skin.

She deeply regretted letting Sting go on the mission. If something were to go wrong, he would be the first to die and she wouldn't be there to protect him. _I'll see you in the stars my darling, protect Sting, you're his mother now. I love you so much_. Her mother's last words said to Lucy were given in the large mansion that grew closer with every step she took. It had been three days since they left their camp but Lucy was surprisingly energized. Maybe it was adrenaline.

There shouldn't be many soldiers at the estate, considering all of Zeref's armies were still camping in the forests outside Marguerite, but Lucy still felt terrified, she had never needed to use her magic for anything besides training. Natsu had had another one of his fits the night before, but this time he had threatened Lucy's life.

"Natsu, is it happening again?"

"...yeah," he answered through gritted teeth.

He was sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of the embers of the dying campfire. Everyone else had gone to bed and Lucy was getting a drink when she saw him hunched over.

All of a sudden, he gripped both sides of his head and cried out. Lucy knelt down next to him and put her hand on his shoulder. She opened her mouth to say something, but what was she supposed to say?

Natsu's shoulders tensed and he began breathing heavily. He had his eyes squeezed shut and jaw clenched for a long minute of agony, but after a while, he calmed down. He let go of his head and sighed, putting his hand atop hers.

"Thanks."

Lucy smiled and nodded.

But it wasn't over.

Suddenly, he completely froze and turned his head toward Lucy. His eyes had glossed over in a deep red and he frowned when he looked at Lucy. She immediately stood up and moved her hand off his shoulder, ready to protect herself. Natsu was too quick though, he sprang up at surprising speed, managing to grasp her neck with his strong hands.

"Natsu… Let, go." Lucy managed to choke out.

His expression was unlike the Natsu she had grown to know, full of rage and hate. She grasped his wrists, trying to pull away his hands but there was .no way she was ever going to be able to overpower him, he was too strong. She desperately breathed in but couldn't get any air through; Her airways were completely shut. She could feel his hands clasp tighter until he lifted her off the ground, her feet dangling a few inches from the grass. After about ten seconds, she could feel herself slipping, but before completely blacking out, he narrowed his eyes and growled, "Natsu, doesn't need you."

Lucy didn't have the conscience to feel confused and noticed a black dot forming in the center of her vision. Lucy watched the spot grow bigger until it took over her whole vision.

Lucy woke up and gasped, coughing out the stale air in her lungs. She was on the ground but she didn't remember falling. Natsu was standing next to her with his back turned, he was talking to someone. It was Jellal, looking quite concerned. He glanced over and saw Lucy and gaped, and didn't finish what he was saying. Lucy sat up, crying out at the soreness in her neck and Jellal kneeled down next to her.

"Are you alright?"

Lucy tried to answer but instead wheezed and resulted in nodding. She glanced up at Natsu who was staring at her in horror.

"What… happened?" She managed to choke out.

Jellal shook his head, "I have no idea. I came outside to see if the fire was put out and I saw him…" He didn't have to finish for Lucy to understand.

There was a bruise forming on Natsu's cheek and Lucy guessed Jellal had punched him to make him snap out of it. Lucy took a minute to get the air back in her lungs and when she did, she looked at Natsu and said, "It's okay, it wasn't your fault-"

"Then who's is it?! If Jellal hadn't stepped in, you would be dead. Just stay away from me, next time you could end up dead."

Lucy tried to argue but he cut her off, "No, I think it's better this way."

She didn't know why, but she felt like he had stabbed her in the chest, without Sting around, Natsu was the person she went to to talk and they had become quite good friends in the past two weeks.

Lucy could tell Jellal felt awkward, and probably a bit confused. Once Natsu had gone to his tent, she tried explaining but realized she also had no idea what was going on with him. Lucy didn't get much sleep that night and she was the first to wake up. After everyone was done eating breakfast and putting away the camp, they began walking the last few miles to Pavonia.

Natsu hadn't said a word to her yet and he made sure to stay on the opposite side of the group from her. Juvia had noticed the bruises on her neck that morning, so Lucy decided to wear a high collared shirt to cover them up.

It had rained the night before, so after just walking a mile, the humidity made everyone drenched with sweat. They were approaching Pavonia within the next hour or so and Lucy didn't want to think about returning to the place where her parents were murdered before her eyes.

After crossing the border, Lucy looked up and could see her family's estate over the horizon. The towns were abandoned and crumbling considering the people had taken refuge from Zeref and his army elsewhere.

As they were walking through the last town before the estate, Jellal stopped them, "We'll probably make it to the estate within the next ten minutes, so I'm going to assign everyone to their teams. The group going to the dungeons is Team 1, me and Erza. Team 2 is meeting Sting, Rogue, and Yukino in the palace gardens, Natsu and Lucy."

He pointed to the both of them and continued. Lucy looked over to Natsu and she noticed he seemed upset about the idea of being on her team.

"Teams 3 and 4 are splitting up inside of the estate to find information, Gray, Juvia, Laxus, Ultear. Team 5 is staying at the rendezvous point and helping the four other teams through their missions, Midnight and Wendy.

Midnight has a blue print of the Pavonia gut as they got closer to the Heartfilia estate, there was a large chance she could die there. Natsu still hadn't talked to her, it seemed he was serious about staying away. She didn't understand what was going on with him, but there was no way it was just a headache.

Zeref had turned the estate into an army base so it was very different from the last time Lucy had seen it. There were small makeshift buildings and large tents surrounding the walls that must have been for all of their soldiers. Their group avoided the city of tents and headed to the back of the estate where the secret passageway under the wall was hidden. Luckily there were no houses and few tents in this area. There were more soldiers on patrol than Jellal expected so they had to stay hidden in the trees for an hour before they had the chance to run to the wall.

Lucy ran first; she was the only one who knew where the entrance was. Once she got to the wall, she ran her hand along the stones, looking for the darker gray brick. She finally found it and took it out, causing the ground to shift beneath her. As she was pulling the trapdoor up from the ground she heard Midnight in her head.

_Three soldiers are rounding the corner of the wall in 6, 5-_

She didn't worry about trying to be careful and ripped the door open, pulling a large amount of grass from its roots.

_4, 3, 2-_

She jumped into the hole, rolling her ankle, and tugged the rope to close the door.

_1._

The door slammed shut above her head and she flinched, hoping the soldiers hadn't heard it. The tunnel was cool and pitch black, the ground was hard from people walking on it over the years.

_Are you okay?_

"Yeah, I just rolled my foot pretty bad though. Did the soldiers notice?" She thought back.

_No, they're gone now, open the door for us._

Lucy couldn't see a thing, so she blindly searched the left wall where she thought she remembered the lever was. When she finally found it, she grasped it with both hands and pulled up.

The ceiling above her popped and was lifted up by two hands. The other members of the group jumped in one at a time, ignoring the ladder like she did.

Jellal was the last one in, so he pulled the old rope and closed the door. Natsu lit his hand on fire which gave them a little light as they carefully walked through the tunnel. Lucy's left foot ached with every step, but she ignored the pain and supported herself against the wall.

They walked in silence, afraid to blow their cover in case someone could hear them from above. They had left Wendy and Midnight at the trap door and Midnight was now feeding directions into their heads. Lucy's stomach lurched when she saw the crossways; this is where they parted.

She glanced over at Natsu who made eye contact with her for the first time in a day.

_Team 1 takes the right tunnel. Team 2 takes the left. Teams 3 and 4 takes the center. _

"Good luck. Don't die. If all goes well, we meet back with Wendy and Midnight at the trapdoor in thirty minutes. Only use magic as a last resort, there may not be many soldiers here right now, but it will still cause a scene. Any last questions?"

Everyone stayed silent, fearing to part ways, knowing that this could be the last time they see each other again. Erza turned and began down the right passageway, but Jellal hesitated and glanced around at their small assortment of people.

"Thank you, and if things go wrong, I'm so sorry."

With that, he lit his hand with his light magic and followed after Erza. Laxus did the same and led Ultear, Gray, and Juvia down the center tunnel. Juvia gave Lucy a small wave and she smiled back as she watched them be engulfed in the darkness.

Natsu began walking into the passage that led to the gardens and Lucy tried to keep up the best she could, but she had to stop about halfway through to rest her throbbing ankle.

"Are you gonna be able to make it?" Natsu asked as he turned around.

She shook her head in shame; why did she have to be so weak?

Without warning, Natsu picked her up bridal style and began walking down the rest of the tunnel at a much faster pace. She wrapped her arm around his shoulder for support though she trusted that he wouldn't drop her. Natsu was tense and on edge, he darted his head around at every sound as they walked, but after a few minutes, she noticed his gaze was turned downward. At first she was quite confused and then she remembered the purple fingerprints on her neck.

"I'm sorry."

She blushed, "It wasn't your fault."

He turned his head away and didn't answer.

After another minute, they reached the end of the tunnel and found the lever that would open the trapdoor above them. Natsu set Lucy down and pulled it down, releasing the door. He climbed up the ladder and lifted the door up a few inches to see the surroundings.

_You're clear, you two can get out._

Natsu opened the door completely and got out so he could help Lucy up the ladder. He lifted her out of the hole and set her on the ground. Lucy brushed herself off and looked around. Her old home loomed over them to the left and the maze surrounded them from all sides.

_Something's wrong, I can't find Sting and Rogue anywhere. Don't move, just stay where you are_

* * *

_**Not sure what to say for this chapter except the usual, stay tuned and review! I hope you enjoyed!**_


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

It was probably the first time Gajeel was worried about a mission. His team had entered Crocus two days before, and they were still trying to figure out a way to get into the palace grounds. At this rate, they were all going to be turned in for suspicious activity before they even got into the palace.

The girl had stated quite a good plan the night before that they were going to try in a few hours once it got dark. The palace gardens are open to visitors during the day but are closed off around 8, so Levy's idea was to take a tour with a large group and then split off and hide until the gardens close. This way they can do a perimeter of the walls and retrieve the flower for Mavis.

All of the spies in their team were not the talkative type, so he was forced to talk to the shrimp, who made sure to stay at least ten feet away from him at all times. It was quite amusing, but he didn't blame her.

The people of Crocus were as stuck up as he remembered, walking with their heads up and talking in snooty voices. He used to care about fitting in with these jerks before he ran away. His older brother had been the essence of proper and perfect, but behind the scenes, he was a monster.

"Gajeel?"

He flinched at hearing his first name, undercover they couldn't risk other people hear someone calling him general.

He grunted in response.

"Should we head to the palace?" Angel asked, she was standing at the front of their group with Levy. They were waiting in an alleyway for the sun to start going down. Cobra and Ren sat against the wall in silence, waiting for an order.

Gajeel considered the option, knowing it would take them a while to walk to the palace, but it would still be fairly light out if they left right now. This meant they would have to hide longer in the palace grounds, which meant there was a larger chance of getting caught. He wanted to spend the least amount of time at the castle as possible.

"No."

Angel rolled her eyes but didn't question him. He stood there like that for another thirty minutes leaning against the wall of the building, tapping his foot, counting the seconds till he would have to return to the palace.

"Sir, we should probably get go-"

He glared at Levy, "Don't call me that."

She didn't say sorry or even continue what she was saying, just stared at him expectantly. She was extremely irritating.

Gajeel rolled his eyes, "Let's get going."

He shoved past Levy and Angel and didn't look back to see if any of them had followed. He was their general after all. He exited the alley and started walking north toward the looming palace overhead. He plowed his way through the crowds, sick of waiting for people to move out of his way.

After trying to make a path through the civilians they found a less crowded back road to take, although it would take them longer, it was safer to have fewer people watching them.

They walked for about 30 minutes through the city until they finally arrived at the castle entrance.

"Do have an appointment?" Asked one of the guards at the gate.

Gajeel angled his head down, making sure they couldn't see his face.

Levy stepped forward, "We're here for the garden tours."

The guard scanned their group suspiciously, "Let me see your tickets."

Levy stuck her hand in her satchel took out five pieces of paper, and handed them to the guard. He looked at each of them carefully and finally looked up and nodded, letting them through the gate. Gajeel ducked his head away from the guard as he walked past him, if he was recognized, it would all be over.

His group followed the 'Garden Tour' signs until they found the cluster of people waiting for the tour guide. When the guy finally showed up, he showed them down a cobblestone path through a tulip garden, then through the hedge yard with all of the bushes trimmed to shape a certain person or animal. At one point, Gajeel turned around and saw that Cobra and Ren were both gone; They must have already found a place to hide. After another five minutes, Angel was gone too.

"These bellflowers you see here are the extremely rare Campanula's, they are only grown here in Crocus. They have medicinal purposes and smell quite lovely."

Levy's attention darted to the hanging plants on the ledge above them to their right. Hundreds of tiny pink flowers sprouted from the stems in the shape of a bell.

"Is that it?" He muttered to Levy, who was still staring at the plants.

She nodded and Gajeel began looking for a good place to hide. He finally found a good spot once the tour guide started walking again. He tapped Levy to get her attention and pointed to a corner of the wall where a very small person could fit behind the bushes grown there.

She shriveled back when he touched her, but nodded and snuck into the bushes once no one was watching. Now it was just him left, and he knew exactly where to hide. He snuck away from the group once they passed a hedge wall into the statue yard. He made his way to the side of the palace, dodging guards left and right. He finally got to the wall and hid behind some bushes as some guards passed. Once they were out of sight, Gajeel quickly scanned the wall for the darker brick that stood out like a sore thumb.

All palaces and estates had these secret passageways and hiding places for the nobles to hide in, but hardly anyone knew about them anymore because of how old they were. After quietly walking along the wall for a few minutes, he found the brick just below his knee. Gajeel pulled it out slowly, stopping when he heard the click and then the hiss of two dissenting air pressures. The sliding door opened in the wall and he grabbed the stones and pushed it open the rest of the way. He ducked inside the short doorway and slid the door shut until it was only an inch open so he could still see outside.

Gajeel looked at his watch about 15 minutes later; it was time to meet up with the others. They should have their blueprints by now, especially with the new x-ray lacrima's Zeref had given them. When you take a picture, it turns it into a 3-D version of the photo that lets you see through walls.

Gajeel opened the door a few more inches so he could see his surroundings before he stepped out, and saw two guards walking beside the wall coming straight toward him. Gajeel quickly ducked his head back into the cave.

Why were there guards right there? No one ever patrolled that close to the palace, unless…

His train of thought was cut off when he heard footsteps further down the tunnel. He immediately turned back around to face the door, but an armored hand slid it shut before he could get out.

An array of swear words repeated through his head as he frantically searched for the lever to reopen the entrance as he listened to the footsteps that got louder every second he wasted.

Gajeel gave up and got himself into fighting position, they obviously knew he was here, and Zeref had told them only to use magic as a last resort. This definitely qualified.

He could see the faint light of a torch about thirty feet ahead of him and shot his first attack. An iron cannon ball flew through the tunnel and Gajeel heard a crack, a thud, and then a few gasps. So there were definitely more than two guards.

Gajeel was preparing for another attack when he heard the laughter. He froze in fear and couldn't breathe.

"Nice shot, little brother."

Gajeel's feet moved by themselves, backing him up against the wall. The torch lights got closer, but he couldn't move an inch. They were close enough now that Gajeel could see the shapes of about five guards and another person who was in the robes of royalty and had long untamed hair.

The man approached Gajeel with a wide, psychotic grin, showing his sharpened teeth. Gajeel turned his head and closed his eyes, not daring to look at the monster before him.

"Guards."

"Yes, your majesty?" They all asked in perfect union.

"Take him to a cell."

The guards saluted, "Yes, King Acnologia."

* * *

_**Thanks for reading this far! I hope you enjoyed and don't forget to leave a review, I really love hearing what you think about my story, see you next week! ;)**_


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

_There's something wrong, stop where you are._

Erza froze, of course there was something wrong.

"What?" Jellal asked out loud. They were almost to the exit of the tunnel where it would take them to a hallway of the dungeons.

_Sting, Rogue, and Yukino aren't anywhere to be found._

"Couldn't they be out of range?" She asked.

_Not likely, my range is a mile from all sides. They said in their last message they were coming back with the first group. There is no reason they wouldn't be here._

Jellal sighed, "Will this affect Teams 1, 3 and 4?"

_If it's a trap, then yes. Continue the mission, but stay alert._

Erza and Jellal exchanged looks and continued down the tunnel. They reached the end sooner than expected and silently climbed up the ladder.

Jellal pulled the lever and followed Erza out of the hole.

The dungeons were cold and had a stale, musty smell. As they walked down the corridor, Erza realized that this part must be unused, considering they didn't take prisoners very often. Recruitment or death was Zeref's policy.

Erza cringed at the loudness of their boots, hoping any soldiers hearing them wouldn't think anything of it.

Erza peeked her head around the corner of a corridor and saw guards standing at every cell, and every cell held at least one prisoner. There was no way they should have that many soldiers on duty, three-fourths of them were still gone.

_Erza and Jellal get out of there now!_

She and Jellal obeyed but she whispered as they were jogging back to the trap door, "What's going on?"

_I just found Zeref in the palace and every soldier within range knows we're here. Run._

Hearing that, their jog turned into a sprint as they passed cells and corridors to their escape. Right before they reached the secret passageway, over a dozen soldiers filed out in front of them from the corridor in between her and Jellal and the exit.

They turned around to go the other way but found another troop blocking that way as well. Erza unsheathed her sword and lined up back to back with Jellal; they were going to have to fight their way out of this one.

The soldiers started closing in their ranks, surrounding the two of them in a circle growing smaller by the second. Jellal used his magic on one of them and sent him flying into the wall. Erza clashed swords with one of them and kicked him in the groin. She and Jellal returned to the center of the circle and continued to pick the soldiers off one by one.

"What's the status of the other teams?" Erza muttered.

_They have all been intersected, no one has come back yet._

"Erza and I aren't likely to make it out of this one, there are too many. If we aren't there in ten minutes, don't wait, just go."

* * *

Lucy and Natsu slowly made their way to the center of the maze. It had started sprinkling which made her foot get worse and Natsu had to help support her as they walked.

"Have you found Sting yet?" Lucy asked.

_No. But I am noticing there are way more soldiers here than there are supposed to, so it makes no sense why they are not here._

Lucy was beyond worried at this point. What if-

_I found them!_

"Where! Are they coming?"

_Strangely no, they- oh my god._

"What? What's going on?" Asks Natsu.

_Get out of there now, I'll explain everything later, just run._

Natsu took her hand and started running in the opposite direction, but he must have forgotten about her foot because there was no way she would be able to keep up with him. She fell to the ground and looked up at him helplessly.

Natsu closed his eyes and sighed, "How much time do we have?"

_About thirty seconds, a full troop of guards just entered the maze._

Natsu held out his hand and she took it, letting him help her to her feet. He picked her up and jogged to the nearest dead end. She realized what he was doing when he set her down.

"No. I'm not letting you do this. If we get captured, we get captured together. If we escape, we escape _together._"

Natsu shook his head, "If I do this, you'll be able to escape. It doesn't have to be all or nothing."

Lucy tried to argue back but couldn't when her voice broke. A tear rolled down her cheek and then another.

"I'm going to run and lead them away from you and cause a distraction long enough for you to get out of here. When Midnight tells you it's clear, book it as fast as you can on that sprained ankle of yours, okay?"

She only shook her head.

No.

He put a hand on her cheek and wiped off some of the tears.

"If all goes well, I'll be a minute behind you."

They both knew that was a lie, there was no way he would get out of there.

He sighed and pressed his forehead against hers, "I'm sorry. I-I wish we had more time."

"Me too-"

Her sentence was cut short by him pressing his lips against hers. It was like someone had shot a thousand fireworks within her. She hadn't realized how much she really liked him until now.

It was over sooner than it had started but his hand lingered on her cheek as she stared up at him in shock.

_Alright guys, you have ten seconds until they find you. If you're going to do this Natsu, now is the time._

Natsu glanced at the main path and then back to Lucy. He gave her another small kiss, whispered, "I'm sorry," and ran off.

She could hear his boots running through the puddles as he turned the corner. She heard even more boots a few seconds later and then Natsu yell in the distance, "Hey assholes!"

_You're clear Lucy, go._

Lucy limped around the corner of the hedge and started making her way back to the hidden trapdoor. She was almost out of the maze when she stepped in an uneven spot in the earth and fell. Her already injured foot rolled and she heard a crack, followed by a sharp throbbing pain. She cried out and cursed, and when she saw the unnatural way her foot was pointing, she felt bile rise in her throat.

_Lucy, there is another troop coming into the maze, hide right now._

"I can't."

She sat up and started scooting away from the main pathway, but she knew she wouldn't make it around the corner in this state. Lucy could already hear the yelling voices and stomping boots of soldiers. They came around the corner and saw her lying there.

"Over there!"

"Hey, you! Surrender, don't move and we won't hurt you!"

There were about ten of them and they all approached her cautiously. Part of her wanted to just give up and let them take her, but then she remembered Natsu. He sacrificed himself so she could escape, she wouldn't let that go to waste. Lucy took a deep breath, tried to block out the pain from her foot and thought about her origin, the place her magic power was stored. She gathered it all up and conjured her most powerful spell.

She glared at the soldiers as she cast it. These people had taken away everything, her family, her home and her life, all destroyed thanks to these monsters. Light surrounded her as she cast Urano Metria. Everything within 20 feet turned into light, even the air.

Lucy opened her eyes and the first thing she noticed was the blackened ground, then the sizzling hedge behind her, then the ten lifeless soldiers lying before her. She gasped and scrambled away from the bodies, their skin burned red and covered with blisters. Her mother had taught her the spell but made sure Lucy understood that she should only use it in dire circumstances. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she stood up, hopping to the pick up the staff of one of the fallen soldiers. She used the staff as a walking stick and made her way to the start of the maze. Lucy ignored the pain in her foot and the sick feeling in her stomach. She had just killed 10 people. 10 people whose lives she had ended.

_Get to the trap door. There are more coming._

She sighed and limped faster, making her way to the palace wall.

_Hurry._

When she reached the wall, it was too late. They had found her. There were double the soldiers this time and she was completely out of magic power. She fell to her knees and bowed her head, knowing this was the end. She heard commands being yelled out, but her ears were ringing.

_Fight back, don't let them take you, come on Lucy._

There were too many, she had no energy, and a broken foot. It would be a death sentence to fight back. She felt her hands being cuffed behind her back and someone told her to, "Get moving."

Ha.

A soldier nudged her but she didn't move. About a minute later, they finally discovered her foot and picked her up, carrying her into the estate. They walked through halls and then down some stairs into the dungeons, where they unlocked a cell and threw her inside, not remembering to be gentle.

There was a cot in the cell, but Lucy didn't have the will to move. The same thoughts cycled through her head over and over again.

_We failed_

_We failed_

_We failed _

_We failed_

* * *

**_Sorry this was so late! I'm on vacation and completely forgot I I was supposed to post yesterday ;) Ee you next Tuesday! Don't forget to review ;)_**


	21. Chapter 20

**_Hey there, I'm so sorry about how late this was! I had no way to post till today, you guys can thank my sister for borrowing her laptop. Enjoy!_**

* * *

_Get out of there now, it's a trap!_

Midnight's message rang through Ultear's head right before their two groups were about to split up through the castle. They had been sneaking around in a service corridor, trying to avoid the surprising amount of guards in the main hallways. They were halfway up the stairwell to the third story when they got the message.

Gray, who was at the back of the group, quickly turned around and started back down the stairs. Everyone followed behind him. They ran through the cluttered service hall, trying not to kick over anything. They backtracked from where they came, though Ultear knew they wouldn't make it to the trapdoor where they would make their escape without running into any soldiers.

When they were almost to the end of the service corridor, they heard yelling and boots behind them. Soldiers knew they were there, so her group stopped trying to be discreet and ran for it, heading toward the main hallway where the closet and the trapdoor were. Ultear could hear buckets and ladders being knocked over as the soldiers grew closer.

"How did they know about us?" Ultear muttered under her breath.

_Stings group got caught. Zeref knows everything._

Ultear sighed exasperatedly, of _course_ they got caught.

As her group was about to turn left to find the closet, they heard more boots and shouted orders coming from the main hallway where they needed to go.

"Lord Zeref said they are in the estate, don't let anything get into that closet."

Ultear inwardly cursed, knowing this would only end in a fight. With soldiers searching for them in both directions, they had about 30 seconds until one of the groups would find them.

She tapped Laxus, "We have the element of surprise, should we risk attacking first though?"

He furrowed his brow, nodded, and told Gray and Juvia. They both nodded and Ultear held up three fingers, then two, then one.

The four of them jumped out from their hiding spot into the main hallway and attacked, Laxus being the first one to use a spell. Lightning struck three different soldiers and they fell to the ground, steaming. Juvia used water to ecase two men to opposite sides of the hall and Gray solidified her water, freezing them to the walls.

Ultear unsheathed her sword and dagger and threw back a soldier into the wall, and then stabbing another who was trying to sneak up from behind. Within 30 seconds, they had taken out the squad of soldiers, but the other group behind them was pouring into the corridor from the servant hallway. There were at least thirty of them, all bearing a sword.

Ultear ran in the opposite direction and her team followed, knowing they were extremely outnumbered. She got to the end of the hall and looked to her left, then her right, her heart sinking when she saw even more soldiers cutting off any escape. Soldiers were running at them from 3 sides; Ultear's brain immediately went autopilot and she tried the door in front of her, hoping it wasn't locked.

It opened and Ultear jumped into the room, Juvia and Gray following behind her. They waited for Laxus who was lagging behind before slamming the door, locking it, and lodging a chair underneath the door handle.

Ultear ran to the window of the dusty guest bedroom and almost laughed when she saw the lake beneath the window. For once, luck was on their side. She was trying to find a way to open the window when she heard the soldiers outside shouting and pounding on the door, and then Juvia cry, "Ultear!"

Ultear turned around and saw Laxus lying on the floor with an arrow sticking out of his back, Juvia and Gray kneeled beside him.

She cursed, it seemed luck was _not _on their side. Ultear ran over and ripped the arrow out, it was better out than in. Laxus cried out and gripped the carpet.

"Gray, freeze the door, Juvia, help me get him to window," They picked him up from under his arms and dragged him to the window.

She asked, "Do you think you can swim?"

Laxus looked at her like she was crazy, "Good."

She broke the window with the butt of her sword and cleared the glass before throwing him out.

"If he starts drowning, help him get to shore, I'll be right behind you," she said to Juvia.

She nodded and jumped out next. Ultear turned to Gray who was trying his best to keep the door closed with his ice.

"Come on Gray!"

He nodded and ran away from the door and out of the window. Ultear jumped out of the window right as the door burst open. She free fell for two stories and hit the water. Her feet plunged into the soft mud at the bottom and she sprang up to the surface. She took a deep breath and dove under the water again so the archers above wouldn't be able to shoot her. She came back up for air to look around for the others and saw them at the left shore of the lake. Juvia was ripping off a part of her combat dress to bandage Laxus and Gray was still swimming to land. She looked up at the broken window and saw three men pointing their arrows at her. She dove under again as soon as they let them fly, trying to outswim the arrows. A sharp pain in her side told her she had been too slow. The other two arrows shot into the mud around her as she cried out, the air in her lungs rising to the surface in bubbles.

She burst through the water gasping for air, her waist throbbing with pain. She swam with one arm while the other held her waist, trying to dull the pain. More arrows shot around her but luckily none hit their target.

When she finally got to the shore, she collapsed and tried her best to keep her breathing steady, but she just ended up wheezing.

She heard Gray's voice but it sounded far away, "Oh my gosh! Juvia come here!"

Gray and Juvia rushed to her side, dripping wet and worried. Juvia quickly spotted what was wrong and gasped. The arrow had gone straight into Ultear's side and was poking out the other way.

"Juvia, go tend to Laxus," she breathed, "You're not going to want to see this."

She wheezed and coughed up blood as Gray helped her sit up.

"Break off the arrowhead, and-" Wheeze, "pull the stick out from the back."

Gray nodded grimly and did what she said, snapping off the arrow head and tossing it aside. Ultear gripped her brother's shoulder as he took the back of the arrow in his hand. Her grip tightened as he slowly pulled out the broken arrow.

"Just rip it out!" She practically screamed, just wanting it to be over with.

She braced herself as Gray quickly yanked out the rest of it. She gasped for air and wheezed, tears leaked out of her eyes and more blood filled her throat, but at least it was out.

Gray had given his shirt to Juvia for bandages and once she was done with Laxus, she bandaged up Ultear.

"We need to go, they're coming," she said, "Gray, where's the map?"

He pulled out a soggy piece of paper and unfolded it in front of him and Ultear. The ink was everywhere, but they could still see the outline of the palace and the dashed lines Lucy marked where the tunnels would be. She had made maps of the tunnels the night before last, just in case one of the groups needed another way out than planned. Gray found the closest escape and helped up Laxus from the ground. Ultear leaned on Juvia as they headed toward the wall at a painfully slow pace. Luckily though, there were huge trees covering this area of the grounds, so they were hidden.

_The passage you're approaching has 10 soldiers inside waiting for anybody trying to escape. You guys can handle 10 men right?_

Ultear exchanged looks with Gray, who nodded at her confidently. He could handle it.

They finally found the trapdoor covered by underbrush and opened it. Gray and Juvia climbed down the ladder first, then Ultear and Laxus followed. She and Laxus almost fell off multiple times due to their injuries, but finally made it to the bottom.

"Are you and Wendy still in the tunnels?"

_No, we had to get out. We're hiding in one of the trees on the outskirts of the forest. We can see the lake from here, so you're pretty close to us._

"Stop where you are!" Yelled a woman's voice further down the tunnel.

Gray and Juvia ran toward the soldiers to attack while Ultear and Laxus stayed behind. She could hear the crackling of ice and splashing of water and grunting of soldiers being taken out in the dark tunnel.

After about two minutes, Gray called back to them, "All clear!"

She and Laxus made their way down the passage holding the walls, trying not to step on any unconscious bodies as they caught up to Gray and Juvia.

_There aren't any guards outside the wall, you're clear. Once you get outside, make a break for the trees._

Ultear heard Gray up ahead answer, "Make sure Wendy's magic is ready, Ultear and Laxus are injured and we need a healer asap."

_How bad?_

"Arrow wounds," answered Gray.

When they finally reached the end, Juvia and Gray had already opened up the door. Ultear dreaded her turn to climb up the tall ladder, knowing it would be painful. She went after Juvia, after each rung she climbed, she could feel even more blood oozing from her wound and soaking the bandages. When Ultear finally made it the top, Gray and Juvia had to drag her out she was so weak.

_More soldiers just entered the tunnel. Hurry._

Laxus climbed up faster than she had, his wound was in his shoulder blade, so he went up one rung at a time, his left arm hanging limp by his side.

Once Gray closed the door, they started as fast as they could for the trees (which wasn't fast at all).

_I see you, come further into the forest and then turn left._

They did as he said and then stopped when they heard him say, _Look up._

Midnight and Wendy were high in the branches of the tree in front of them, gesturing for them to come up.

There was no way-

The thought was cut off as the air around her lifted the four of them up to Wendy's level and set them gently on a branch.

Wendy smiled as she finished setting everyone on the high branch with her wind magic, but her eyes held tears.

That was when Ultear realized, "Where are the others?"

Midnight didn't look at her.

"_Midnight, _where is Jellal?"

He made eye contact with her, his expression grim, "They didn't make it."

* * *

**_See y'all Tuesday ;)_**

**_-Silver_**


	22. Chapter 21

_**Yo. So I'm gonna stop promising a chapter every week because I obviously cannot, especially with school about to start again, sorry :l**_

* * *

Chapter 21

Erza cursed, there were too many and her and Jellal were getting tired. There were at least 40 men and women surrounding them, all attacking them with swords and the occasional magic-user cas\ing spells at them.

Despite their exhaustion, Jellal and Erza were a force of nature when they fought together, dodging and attacking in a blur of light and blade. They didn't even need to defeat all of the soldiers, if they could just make it to the trapdoor…

Suddenly, the dungeon grew colder, and colder until Erza's breath turned into steam. Between trying to fight her way through an army and trying not to get killed herself, it took Erza a minute to realize what was going on.

She cursed once again, feeling the jealousy that came with his magic. All at once, the soldiers closest to she and Jellal tackled them. Erza was able to block the first two, but with all of them lunging at her at once, they were able to pin her down and disarm her. She tried to fight her way out of it, punching, kicking, and desperately trying to get out of the tangle of limbs that stood between her and her freedom.

The soldier behind her managed to grab one of her wrists despite her flailing about. She tried to twist her arm so he would let go, but his grip remained firm. Cold metal clasped around her trapped arm with a click.

No.

She would not go back, especially now.

She saw a sword lying just out of reach, if she could somehow manage to grab it, she could escape. A frustrated yell to her left caused Erza to realize Jellal was still there too, and he was top priority. If Zeref got his hands on Jellal, Marguerite would fall.

And Jellal would die.

A new fire lit in Erza's chest, and she lunged for the sword, pulling her captor down with her. Her free hand grasped the sword handle and thrust the point down into the jerk with the handcuffs.  
He cried out in pain and released her. Erza managed to get on her feet without being impaled and broke the handcuffs off of her left wrist with the butt of her sword. Jellal was wrestling 4 soldiers on the ground, and each time he used his magic, the light in the attack seemed dimmer. They were both exhausted.

She grabbed one of the soldiers' hair and pulled her off Jellal, giving her a kick to the gut before she shoved her into soldiers that were getting ready to attack Erza again. Jellal used another light attack which threw the rest off of him. Erza swiped up another sword from a fallen soldier and helped Jellal to his feet, handing him the sword. They stood back to back once more, ready for an attack that didn't come. Each of the soldiers stood at attention, and Erza noticed the temperature had lowered even more. The crowd of soldiers parted, a silhouette of a man walked through them.

Erza and Jellal both glared when he walked into the light.

"General Vastia, Sir!"

Every soldier in the corridor saluted the sneering ice wizard. His red cape flailed dramatically behind him and contrasted his white uniform that matched his hair.

"What a surprise, you just couldn't stay away, could you General Scar- wait, I can just call you Erza now," bragged Lyon, puffing out his chest so they'd notice the golden crest pinned to his uniform that marked him as General.

"And you," he turned to Jellal, "this is probably the last place on the planet you'd want to be, M'lord."

Jellal glared at him, slowly angling his sword towards Lyon. Lyon raised his eyebrows and two ice arrows shot straight toward their throats, stopping centimeters before piercing through skin. A threat.

"Drop the swords and let me see your hands," Lyon said with a bored look on his face. Erza couldn't stand his smugness.

She and Jellal did as they were told and the swords clattered to the stone ground; they couldn't risk taking chances.

Once their hands were up, Lyon nodded to someone behind them. Erza felt another pair of cuffs being clicked around her wrists, along with Jellal's. The arrows fell to the ground and shattered; Erza had never felt so frustrated before. If she hadn't let Lyon escape Jellal's estate, they wouldn't have to be dealing with him now. The trapdoor was so close.

Lyon walked in a circle around them and kicked the back of Erza's legs, forcing her to kneel. Her knees hit the ground hard and she grunted in pain.

Lyon smirked, "I've always hated you, and now, seeing you _kneeling_ before me is probably one of the most satisfying things."

Erza swallowed several comebacks that surely would have put him in his place, and let him continue his monologue. He started mocking Jellal next, but Erza wasn't paying attention. Blood was roaring in her ears and her knees ached. She didn't even notice the coldness of the dungeon, there was so much adrenaline pulsing through her she was a panting, sweating mess.

"-kill you both right now."

"I doubt Zeref would appreciate that," Jellal shot back.

After another minute of Lyon wasting time, Erza heard Midnight's last message.

_It's been ten minutes, they're hunting us down and we have to get moving. I'm sorry. We'll wait a week in Hargeon for you and if you don't escape we'll come back._

"If we're not back in a week, assume the worst, don't come back, they will capture you too. Did anyone else escape?" Erza asked silently.

_Laxus, Ultear, Gray, and Juvia are on their way to the rendezvous, they escaped. Natsu and Lucy got captured._

"Stings group?"

_I found Sting for a second before he got out of range, but no one else. I believe they're being held captive._

Erza inwardly cursed, over half of them didn't even make it out. Hopefully Chatelaine Karen will hear what Laxus and the others have to say. Her military was the largest besides Crocus, if they couldn't convince her to help, then the whole country was doomed.

In her daze, Lyon had gotten into Jellal's face, insulting not only Jellal, but his father.

"Killing the old man was too easy to call an assassination. When I walked into his study, he practically handed me the knife. First, I slit his throat," Lyon traced a finger along Jellal's neck, who looked enraged enough to bite Lyons finger off.

"Then, I stabbed him here," Lyon punched Jellal in the ribs, "Then here," Square in the stomach, "and then here, for good measure." His last punch landed on the side of Jellal's head, knocking him to the ground in front of Erza. He looked up at her with shame his eyes, as if it were somehow his fault they had gotten into this situation.

Lyon chuckled as he approached Erza, shaking his head. The only thing Erza could do was glare, this imbecil had wanted her position for years; even though most people would be happy with being 1st Lieutenant, he was obsessed with surpassing his superiors.

"Don't let it go to your head, Lyon."

He narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything.

Erza smirked, "Zeref only moved you to general because I left, you were always second best compared to _me."_

Erza noticed Lyon's fists clench and braced herself as she continued, "Regardless whether I am General or not, you'll never surpass me-"

Lyon's hand came down in a flash of anger and Erza fell to the ground. She tried to catch herself, but her hands were cuffed behind her. Erza landed next to Jellal, face to face as Lyon stood over them sneering, "I surpassed your loyalty, you're a backstabbing rat to everyone who trusts you."

Erza knew she should've kept her mouth shut, but couldn't help saying, "I don't even understand why Zeref promoted you, the last mission he had trusted you with, you failed, and now the whole entire cause has been delayed-"

"BECAUSE OF YOU! You betrayed me!" Lyon's crazed eyes landed on Jellal and pulled a dagger from his belt. "Now I'm going to _finish _my mission!"

Lyon lifted his arm up and thrust down the blade straight toward Jellal's heart. Jellal was quicker though, and rolled away as the blade smashed into the rock.

"Enough, Lyon!" Cried a girls voice.

She ran up to him and grabbed his arm, long pink hair waving behind her. It was Meredy, Lyon's girlfriend and the newly promoted 1st Lieutenant.

She began pulling him away and trying to get it through to him how mad Zeref would be if he killed either one of them.

"Take them to the interrogation chamber," she said as she dragged Lyon away.

"Yes, Ma'am!"

She and Jellal were forced to stand as the guards secured the cuffs around their wrists. Erza stared at Jellal, praying this wouldn't be the last time they would see each other. Without thinking, she took a step toward him, pulling against her bound hands. She kissed him and he kissed back, but it only lasted for a moment before the soldiers yanked them away from each other. Erza tried to memorize him before they both were sent to their deaths: his strange tattoo she always forgot to ask about, his hazel eyes that always seemed to see through her emotions. She felt tears on her cheeks when the guards finally finished securing her bonds.

Erza didn't have any fight left and let the soldiers take her away from Jellal, locking her up once again.

Rogue was sure he was going to go insane. He, Sting and Yukino had been tied up and put in a tent about two miles from the estate. At one point, Sting had managed to sneak out of the tent and get away, but he was caught and dragged back about 20 minutes later. Now their feet were tied.

They sat in miserable silence for the longest 5 minutes of Rogue's life until they heard a struggle outside. He and Sting sat up, trying to hear what was going on.

The scuffle ended sooner than they expected and in walked the last person they thought would be their savior. Captain Orland didn't seem to have broken a sweat taking out the 5 soldiers stationed outside of their tent.

"Where are your friends?"

Sting scoffed, "As if we'd tell _you _that-"

Minerva cut him off, "Stop being an imbecile. I'm here to rescue you, why else would I knock out all of those guards out there?"

"How do we know we can trust you?" Rogue asked suspiciously.

The captain rolled her eyes, "We don't have _time _for this! What would I have to gain by lying to you, I'd be completely outnumbered and killed."

Rogue didn't answer but considered it. She stated a good argument. Minerva wasted no time and started cutting the anti-magic ropes tied around their hands and feet.

Surprisingly, Yukino answered her question, "The rendezvous point was supposed to be on the west side of the estate wall, inside of a passageway, but I doubt they're there anymore."

Sting and Rogue stared at her in shock and Minerva nodded, immediately opening a portal into the wall of the tent.

"This doorway will take you to the woods just outside the west wall. Good luck."

"But-" Sting protested, but was cut off once again.

"Just go. There is no time for this!" Snapped Captain Orland as she shoved Sting into the portal; Yukino followed after him.

Rogue started to walk into the swirling portal that looked like a purple and navy galaxy, with little white and gold dots speckling the surface. He stopped before he was completely on the other side and turned to face Minerva.

"Why are you doing this?"

She sighed, "Because I just got out of a meeting that was mainly for scheduling your execution and it seemed like the right thing to do. You three might have only been in my division for a week, but I enjoyed training you. Maybe if circumstances were different, we could've been friends."

Rogue grew determined, "We _can _be friends. Come with us."

Minerva looked behind her cautiously and then said, "I think I should stay here. I believe in Zeref's cause, just not his death penalty. I'm sorry, but this is the farthest I will go."

Rogue shook his head, took her wrist, and pulled her through the portal despite her struggling.

"Rogue! Unhand me!" She commanded while she tried to pry his fingers from her wrist.

Sting was standing near and gaped when he saw what was going on, "We're bringing her?"

"No!" She cried.

"We're taking her with, whether she likes it or not, now would you help me out?"

Sting nodded and held her down while Rogue unsheathed her sword and knocked her out with the butt of it.

_Are you guys all right? What happened?_

Rogue had never been so happy to hear Midnight inside of his head.

"We got help, where are you?"

_We just left our hiding spot and we're headed to Hargeon. You're not far, just keep heading west into the forest till you find us, we'll wait for you._

Rogue picked up Minerva and headed west. The trees were close together and the underbrush was thick, making it extremely difficult to walk.

"So um, why are we bringing her?" Sting asked.

Rogue furrowed his eyebrows and stared ahead, "Because she can help us, it didn't seem like she wanted to stay with Zeref's army."

"Mmhm, _that's _the reason," Sting replied with a smirk.

Rogue ignored his teasing and continued walking. After about ten minutes, Midnight sent another message,

_We can see you._

Rogue could see them as well, and as they got closer, he noticed people were missing and others were injured. The plan had obviously failed.

"Who's that?" Gray asked as Rogue approached them.

"A friend."

Gray shrugged, "Glad you guys made it back."

Sting looked around and scowled, "Where's Lucy?"

They all looked at the ground solemnly and Rogue immediately knew the answer.

Midnight was the one who answered after a long moment of silence, "She and Natsu got captured, along with Jellal and Erza."

Stings eyes widened and he pointed in the direction of the estate, "We have to go back! We have to save them!"

"No. We're going to wait and see if they can escape themselves, and then if they don't return within a week, we'll come back with an _organized plan_," countered Laxus.

"A week is too long! They'll die!"

"I have faith that they can survive. Do you have faith in your sister?" Asked Laxus.

Sting begrudgingly nodded.

"Well, then let's get moving. We have a long walk ahead of us and it's getting dark."

* * *

_**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW**_

_**;)**_

_**-Silver 3**_


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Natsu fought with everything he had, not even thinking about his impossible escape, buy Lucy's. There was no way she would be able to get back with her ankle, but if Natsu was a diversion, maybe she would escape in time.

"What is the closest passage?" He yelled to Midnight as he darted through the maze, a troop of guards right on his tail.

_The closest one is about a hundred yards north of your position. The maze only has two entrances though and it's the opposite direction you're heading in._

Natsu smirked as he punched a guy who got too close, "That won't be a problem."

He turned North and shot a fireball at the hedge in the way. It blew a burning hole in the bush and led to another walkway in the maze.

He ran through it and continued this until he emerged from the gardens into an open stone courtyard.

Natsu sprinted across the stone toward the wall, not daring to look behind him.

"Where's the exit and how many people are behind me?" Natsu yelled impatiently.

_Run along the wall for 21 yards and then hit the black brick, a door to the other side will open up. There are 14 soldiers behind you and about 30 more making their way through the maze._

"Is Lucy safe?"

He waited for a moment, but there was no answer.

"_Midnight_, where is Lucy?" Natsu demanded.

_Being taken to a cell._

Natsu skidded to a stop.

_No, you have to escape. getting caught isn't going to save Lucy._

Natsu ignored him and punched a guard in

the face. The rest of them encircled him, blocking his path in case he decided to run again. Natsu sucked in air, trying to catch his breath before someone attacked him. A soldier to his left stepped forward and tried to slash Natsu with their sword. He reacted quickly though, sidestepping the attack and setting his hand ablaze. He did the same thing to his other hand and grabbed a sword that was being thrust at him from his right. The iron blade melted and he flicked the molten hot metal in another soldiers face. Natsu felt a pang of guilt when the girl fell to her knees, grabbing her face and crying out in pain. Those scars were going to be there for the rest of her life. His sympathy disappeared though, when he remembered Lucy. These people had taken everything from her.

He parried another attack and kicked a man in the groin, spinning around to fight anyone who dared to challenge him. Though, before he could land an attack on someone else, a dark, cold presence washed over him, causing his stomach to drop. Natsu looked around for the source though he knew exactly what it was coming from.

_Get out of there now. There's someone coming._

"Who?" Natsu asked even though he knew the answer. He prayed it wasn't.

_Zeref._

Natsu shivered but didn't answer. He looked around and prepared to defend himself, but the remaining soldiers were already saluting; they felt it too.

The horrible presence grew stronger and Natsu summoned flames in both hands, preparing for a fight with his brother.

It felt like someone was dimming the sun as darkness spread through the courtyard.

"You've made such a mess of the place, Natsu."

Natsu's stomach lurched when his brother's calm voice reached his ears. He spun around, trying to locate the source.

_Bow down. _

The voice inside his head told him. A splitting pain surged through Natsu's head and he fell to his knees, screaming in pain. The fires in his palms diminished as he weakened and grabbed his head. It had never hurt this bad before.

Natsu opened his eyes despite the pain and saw two black shoes standing before him. He forced himself to look up and he saw the mocking grin of his older brother. Natsu tried to glare but instead, his face contorted when the searing pain in his head got worse.

Zeref didn't say a word as he moved his hand from his side closer to Natsu. Natsu tried to move away from him but he was frozen.

Zeref placed his palm on Natsu's forehead and a black aura surrounded both of them. The pain continued to intensify and he realized he couldn't make a sound. He didn't have control over anything, he couldn't even breathe.

It felt like his skull was splitting open.

The last thing he remembered before blacking out was Zeref's face. His eyes were glowing red and although Natsu couldn't hear anything, he knew Zeref was laughing.

Gajeel's body hurt. He had been chained to the ceiling for roughly 36 hours; He was counting. It felt like his arms were going to rip off; his toes barely touched the ground and he was practically hanging.

Levy was in the cell next to him, quietly crying every now and then. His stomach rumbled for food that he knew wasn't coming.

Acnologia would pay him a visit every two hours or so, just to stare at him. It probably pleased him to see his little brother like this. Chained up and helpless.

Gajeel heard footsteps from further down the corridor and suspected the king again, but this time the queen approached the door to his cell. She said something to the guard and he unlocked the barred door. It swung open and his sister-in-law walked in, heels clicking on stone.

Gajeel raised his head and glared at her; she smiled.

"The king has requested you."

Gajeel spat.

She merely swiped her forehead with a gloved hand and turned toward the door, her light green hair flapping behind her.

The guard posted by his cell came in and started unlocking the cuffs around his wrists. Gajeels arms fell to his sides like lead, followed by a rush of pain. He groaned and stumbled backward. He wanted to stretch his arms but the guard immediately shoved his wrists into another pair of magic proof cuffs behind his back.

Gajeel had never wanted to punch someone so badly before. He was led down the dark corridor following behind the queen. Levy's cell was empty when they passed it.

"Where'd you take her?" Gajeel glared at the queen.

No answer.

They passed more cells, surprised at the amount of prisoners there were. Father had never kept prisoners, he enjoyed watching them die too much to ever have the dungeons this full.

Gajeel felt the temperature rise as they walked up the stairs and out of the freezing cold dungeons. The queen walked ahead of them through the corridors for some time before turning left into another hallway. Gajeel and his guard continued going straight and he knew exactly where they were headed.

The guard led him into the large front room of the palace, two sets of enormous doors on both sides of the empty room; one leading outside, and one that led into the throne room. The guard pushed Gajeel left toward the throne room and he walked into the giant doors.

He looked ahead and saw Acnologia in the king's throne. He had one leg resting over one of the arms of the chair and he was slumped down into the back of it. He wore a tattered cloak, loose pants and the golden band around his head that gave him the title of king. Other than the crown, he looked like an imposter while sitting in that chair.

Gajeel noticed the smile on his brother's face and followed where his attention was pointed. The two thrones were on a platform with stairs leading down to the main level. At the bottom of those stairs was his comrade Levy on her knees, forehead touching the ground.

The queen must have taken a shortcut, for she was sitting on her throne as well.

Gajeel stopped next to Levy and the guard kicked the back of his knees, causing him to stumble forward and fall to his knees. He gritted his teeth in indignation and glared at Acnologia, who smiled back.

After a minute of silence, Gajeel grew impatient.

"What do you _want,_ Acnologia?"

The queen cleared her throat and his brother sneared. An armored hand punched the side of Gajeel's head and his vision went black for a moment.

He blinked away the blurriness and noticed he must've fell forward; he was in the same position as Levy.

Gajeel tried sitting back up to his knees but his guard planted his foot on his back, denying Gajeel his dignity. A trickle of blood ran down his cheek from his brow.

He glanced over at Levy, who was watching him out of the corner of her teary eyes.

"Can you not guess why you're here? In this room?" Asked the king, his low, raspy voice breaking the silence.

The execution platform.

That was where he and Levy had been put, and without magic, there was no way for him to fight back. He heard the guard draw a sword.

"Prince Gajeel Redfox, son of late King Metalicana Redfox, I sentence you to death," Acnologia stood from his throne, "for treason against the crown and your country."

Gajeel had watched so many people get killed in this spot, but he never thought it would be him someday. The guard's boot moved to his head, planting it to the ground.

Gajeel locked eyes with Levy as he braced himself for the sword.

He waited, each second painfully slow, as Acnologia stepped onto the execution platform and kneeled down to Gajeel's face.

The king's breath smelled stale with wine as he whispered, "I was trying to find a reason to kill you for years, so thank you for making it easy."

Gajeel didn't acknowledge him and continued to stare at Levy. His last moments wouldn't be spent looking at his brother.

"I'm sorry," Gajeel mouthed silently.

Levy's eyebrows creased and she nodded.

"You may commence the execution," ordered the king.

The guard raised his sword.

Levy flinched.

Gajeel squeezed his eyes shut.

He heard the squelching sound of an iron blade cutting into flesh, but didn't feel anything.

Gajeel opened his eyes and someone screamed. The boot lifted from his head and blood dripped onto the floor next to him. He looked up and saw the handle of the sword in the guards hand, and the end of it stuck into the king's chest. Gajeel froze, his eyes widening as the guard pulled the sword out.

Acnologia brought his hands to his chest and stumbled backward, eventually falling to his back. The queen's screams were cut off and Gajeel looked up to see that the guard stationed behind her had grabbed her and had a knife to her throat. Tears were streaming down her face and Acnologia whispered her name.

"Hisui."

Gajeel felt the cuffs around his wrists fall and the guard pulled on his arm, "Get up! General, _get up_!"

He snapped back to reality and stood on his weak legs. The guard took off his helmet and revealed himself to be Cobra.

"We've got to go. _Now_."

Levy was set free as well by her own guard, who Gajeel guessed was Ren.

The guard who had the queen yelled at the others stationed in the throne room, "If you take one step towards us I will kill her _just_ like we killed your king!"

They all had their swords ready, but didn't move.

Gajeel recognized the traitors voice; it was Angel.

Cobra grabbed his arm and began pulling Gajeel away toward the doors.

He watched as the two guards stationed by the entryway ran out of the room, probably to get help.

Their group quickly made their way out of the throne room, Angel still had the queen as they walked out of the front doors of the palace, guards gaping at them, not knowing what to do.

They walked down the cobblestone path and right up to the gate. Queen Hisui struggled against Angel and Angel tightened her grip. The guards at the gate saw them coming and created a wall of men so they couldn't get through, but Angel walked right up to them. The knife in her hand glistened and they parted, knowing that their queen musn't die.

Once they all got outside the castle walls, Cobra murmured, "on the count of 1, we run into the city. Follow me, got it?"

Everyone nodded.

"Alright. One."

They all began sprinting, Angel falling behind after threw Hisui to the ground.

There was yelling and the stomping of a hundred metal boots behind them, but Gajeel didn't look back.

He never wanted to see that place again.


End file.
